The Do’s ans Don’ts of Reference checks and Pre-screening

As an HR professional, handling new hires is a significant part of your job. Two things can make a notable difference in how effective you are. They are: how you handle pre-screening new applicants, and how you work with reference checks.

There are some simple dos and don’ts that can make a big difference in how your day goes — interested in a smoother process? Read on!

Do: Dig Deeper Before Interviews

Many human resource departments struggle to get the right applicants in the door. Yes, you get thousands of resumes for every opening, but how do you screen and organize them?

If you’re like many HR departments, you look through the resumes and set up initial interviews, hoping for the best. Or, you might streamline things a bit and use phone interviews to work through the first round, saving in-person interviews for later.

But what if you could do more, without taking up your own time?

You can! Using a pre-interview questionnaire, you can find out a lot of details about the candidates you’re interested in without using any of your own time.

Send out the questionnaires in less than 30 seconds, and the candidates do the work from there. When they reply, you get a much more well-rounded view of who they are, allowing you to interview only those who are most qualified.

Don’t: Skip Reference Checks

Reference checks can be one of the more frustrating and time-consuming parts of hiring someone. You end up playing phone tag for days, and when you finally do reach them, it’s a bad time, and you don’t get to ask all the questions you need.

It’s easy to get frustrated and give up on the references altogether, primarily if you’re sold on a candidate for other reasons.

Don’t do it! Instead, use automated reference checks Hiringcue.com. In 60 seconds, you can send a reference questionnaire to the references given by the candidate. As they answer, the information is fed into a report. Once you have everyone’s replies, you’ll have an excellent, wholistic view of the candidate.

Save time and get the real story about everyone you hire. It’ll make a huge difference.

Do: Ask the Right Questions

When you’re using the pre-interview questionnaire, be sure you ask the right questions. You already know what you’re not allowed to ask, but we’re not talking about those rules.

We’re talking about what you can ask to get to the bottom of how each candidate will fit into your culture and position. Hiringcue.com has hundreds of questionnaires, or you can create your own.

Some things to ask about include:

• Questions about specific skills you’re looking for, in a way that will show you if they really have them or not
• Asking them about their experience working on teams
• Ask about their reasons for leaving their last position
• Find out more about their job preferences and goals

This will help you understand not only if the applicant is qualified, but if they are someone, you’re likely to retain. That’s an essential factor as well!

Don’t: Wait to Check Social Media

Some HR departments consider checking social media and references at the end of the process. It’s the last thing they do when they’ve pretty much decided they want to hire someone.

Here’s the problem: you’ve already invested a ton of time and resources into the applicant. If you’re sold on someone, it’s hard to let references and social media dissuade you when they should.

Instead, save time and money by using automated reference questionnaires and checking social media right away. That way, someone who doesn’t qualify doesn’t cost you resources that you could use for a better fit.

Do: Find a Partner to Help You Hire Smart

Having a software partner who streamlines your process can make all the difference in the world. Hiringcue.com has a variety of resources to make things easier in your day-to-day work.

From pre-interview questionnaires to automated reference checks to building a passive candidate database, we can help you save time and money in the hiring process.

Are you ready to see what we can do to make your job easier? Sign up today for a free trial of course, no credit card required.

About Us

Hiringcue.com is an automated solution to streamline the reference checking & pre-interview process. Our solution aims to bring about an automated experience to the tedious, time-consuming task of checking references & pre-screening applicants.

Paulo Nunes – CTO

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