Global Presence

Platform Available 24/7

evalart@evalart.com

Candidate pre-selection: What is it and how is it done?

Share with:


Employee selection is a critical process carried out by the Human Resources department. Finding the right person can be challenging, especially if there is no prior plan or if there has not been a pre-selection of candidates. The pre-selection is a critical step that can save time, money and efforts in the search for the right talent.

Attracting and retention talent is essential for the success of companies. The selection process requires a significant effort from the Human Resources team. Pre-selecting candidates can help save time, resources and efforts in the search for the ideal employee.

Conducting prior research is crucial if you want to find the perfect candidate. This work will help fill vacancies more effectively and quickly, allowing the needs to be detected and the profile to be defined in detail.

What is the pre-employment selection process?

The pre-employment selection process is the first step in searching for candidates to fill a position or role in the company. It is a crucial stage in the recruitment and selection process.

In pre-employment selection, the recruitment and selection process is determined, and the specific needs of the company and the type of person who can meet them are identified.

In addition to pre-employment selection, other important phases that will influence the final selection of personnel should be taken into account.

What you need to know to carry out a candidate pre-selection.

In the candidate pre-selection, it is necessary to take into account some previous and during the process aspects. The most important are:

The company’s and its work team’s needs.

Identifying key needs is the first step in the candidate pre-selection process. It is essential to know what tasks are not being performed due to the lack of personnel in the company. To carry out this process effectively, it is necessary to have good communication with the person responsible for the department or area where the vacant position is located, as they are the one who is most familiar with the tasks and knows better the type of profile that is required.

Some points to consider to complete this task are:

  • Job description: functions, tasks, and responsibilities of the position.
  • Department to which it belongs: work team, who to deliver results to, supervision responsibilities.
  • Vacancy mode: in-person, hybrid, flexible, or remote.
  • Responsibilities: tasks and expected results.
  • Recruitment method: where the candidate will be sought.
  • Work schedule: part-time, full-time, specific dates.
  • Type of hiring: indefinite or temporary.
  • Number of vacancies: whether one or multiple people are sought to fill similar positions.

Candidate Profile.

It is essential to clearly know and define the ideal profile, based on the company’s needs. To do this, education level, years of experience, skills and competencies, basic tool knowledge, language, salary, and personality should be taken into account. A technical test can be carried out to evaluate the candidate’s abilities or psychometric tests can be used to understand the personality, which can help make a more objective decision.

Indispensable vs. Desirable Skills.

During the creation of the candidate profile, there are certain skills or knowledge that are essential for performing the tasks. To identify these critical aspects, it is important to use key questions or “killer questions.” These questions are crucial and if a candidate cannot answer satisfactorily, they are disqualified from the selection process. For example, if a sales position in the American market is being filled and the pre-candidate is asked if they have a high level of English, and their response is “no”, then regardless of their other abilities, they would not meet one of the essential requirements and would be disqualified.

Candidate Recruitment Method.

During the pre-selection of candidates, it is important to decide the method that will be used for recruitment. It is possible to combine different approaches, such as active recruitment (where a job offer is posted and interested parties send their resume), passive recruitment (where the HR department searches and contacts people who meet the criteria), and internal recruitment (where stored resumes, active employees, former employees, internal recommendations, etc. are used).

Sources for candidate pre-selection recruitment.

It is important that the way you recruit and the recruitment source is based both on the desired profile for the position and on the profile of the candidate being sought. If you do not have a clear idea of what you are looking for, it will be more difficult to find the right candidate.

Writing the job offer.

In the final step of candidate selection, the writing of the job offer is crucial. This offer should be based on the thorough research done on the vacancy and should be clear, attractive, and with all the necessary information for the candidate. A unique and eye-catching offer can be what sets a company apart from others, so it is important to use creativity to create a persuasive offer that shows the company’s dedication and attention to detail. The offer should go beyond the basic data and present the information in a simple and precise manner to attract top-level talent.

Finally, if you wish to include psychometric, intelligence, or personality tests, at Evalart we have a wide portfolio of essential tests for your personnel selection processes.