There are methods to nail down recruiter screening questions. Like anything, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
To be sure, you must invest some amount of time.
As you do, look for these indicators.
- Does your recruiter ask discovery questions? Before developing screening questions to identify the best candidates for you to meet, your recruiter does not invest the time to understand what is unique to your company. Some discovery questions might include:
- What are your firm’s corporate goals?
- What does success look like for the position?
- How will the position be supervised/managed?
- Are there unique aspects to company culture?
- What will the successful new hire achieve in the first 30 days?
- Will your recruiter share their screening questions with you? You may not have the time to participate and review the direction of the recruiter. However, reviewing your recruiter’s screening questions can save a lot of time later. But consider that if you don’t, first you might spend time looking at candidates that are not a fit. Second, you may end up looking for a different recruiter if this one doesn’t hit the mark. Both of these activities are wasteful of your time later – so the investment to review screening questions now, saves a lot of time. It is a red flag if your recruiter won’t share the screening questions with you.
- Are the screening questions unique to your position? If your recruiter says they have boilerplate screening questions for every position they search for, they have not taken the time to understand what unique characteristics your firm needs for this role to drive success and achieve goals.
- Is the recruiter focused on keywords, or job performance? Screening questions should focus on three things.
- Can the candidate perform the job?
- Do they exhibit behavior that fits the company’s culture?
- Do they demonstrate interest in succeeding?
There are other factors that you will recognize as a participative client. Notwithstanding avoiding keyword Google users who trawl resume sites and throw spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks – I assume no professional, hiring manager or human resources leader wants to pay for that level of service. So, once you have engaged with your recruiter, plan on a minimum of weekly updates – just as you would expect weekly status updates from your internal employees. Ensure you are responsive to your recruiter’s communications that enable your partner to deliver the results you want and need, both on-time and that exceed expectations.
At Barton Professional Placement Group, we take pride in communicating with our clients, before, during, and after engagement. Screening is a critical effort for both client and recruiter to work together and develop a relationship that drives successful results. Call us today to engage on your next search in ways that align with your goals, and ensure optimal outcomes.
