Are you looking for shortlisting criteria examples?
In this post, we look at the best shortlisting criteria examples that you can introduce into your recruiting process.
Shortlisting criteria are the set of factors that organisations use to decide who to hire. These factors can be skills, experience, qualifications, and more.
Hiring managers should take into account a candidate's qualifications, skills and experience when shortlisting candidates. These factors will help them find the best candidate for the job.
Introduction: What is a Shortlist?
Shortlisting is the process of identifying candidates that meet the requirements in a job listing.
They are the candidates you want to move forward within the recruitment process, most likely by having an interview or moving onto the next stage of the recruitment funnel.
Think of it as a 'short list' of the people you want to speak to.
What is the Purpose of Shortlisting?
The purpose of shortlisting is to narrow down the number of candidates for a job. The process is usually conducted by a panel of people who are well-versed in that particular field. They will review all the applications and will then take out those who are not qualified for that opportunity.
With more manageable numbers, it feels less overwhelming and allows you to better determine which applicants to talk to.
Your shortlist can also help you identify how on-target you are with reaching your target audience. If you can't find the right applicants despite your best recruitment efforts, this might be a sign that you're not posting in the right places (or that your requirements are too high for this particular position)
Shortlisting helps you make the hiring process easier and faster.
What are the Main Benefits of Using a Shortlist?
A shortlist is a list of people or things that are being considered for a particular job. It is typically used to refer to the final list of people or things that will be chosen from.
The main benefits of using a shortlist are:
- Ensuring fairness in the recruitment process.
- Making decisions based on merit and not on personal connections.
- Shortlists can also be used as an assessment tool for candidates to see if they have what it takes for the job.
Best Practices in Shortlisting for a Job Interview
Next, we’ll go over the steps you should take in order to shortlist your candidates effectively. Essentially this will land you the best candidate for the role.
Make the job advert clear and concise
The first step in the process is to select the best shortlist of candidates for an interview. In order to do this, you will need to make sure that the job advertisement is clear and concise. You should also have a good understanding of what you are looking for in a candidate, as well as what skills and experience they should have.
Create a list of essential criteria in a candidate and desirable
From your job description make a list of criteria that candidates must have. This includes information such as skills, qualifications, experience, traits and characteristics.
Then go on to make a second list of the desirable traits of your ideal candidate. This includes information that would make your candidate stand out! Things such as specialised skills niche to your industry. Specialised qualifications or experience. Things that will make them excel in the role.
Decide how many candidates you want to interview
You should consider how much time you have to recruit your new talent. Based on the time restrictions on the job opening, decide how many candidates you want to interview. This will decide the number of shortlisted candidates.
With these essential decisions made, you’ll have a clear goal to work towards.
Whittle down candidates with your essential shortlisting criteria
The easiest way to filter through your candidate pools is to eliminate any candidates who aren’t hitting the essential job criteria. - By process of elimination, you’ll work through your candidate pools list fairly quickly.
Filter through candidates prioritising candidates with desirable criteria
The same process as above, but with desirable criteria not just essential.
Conduct a screening interview
Phone screenings have become a common source of initial interactions during the hiring process. They help you efficiently identify the best candidates for roles where interview volume is low, but they may not be applicable in other situations. Most recruiters however are ditching phone interviews in favour of video.
Video interviews allow people to send you a video response and give you the chance to get to know them before going any further. This can help you fill roles without needing to go through all of the applications
Video interviews are becoming more popular at work and it does cause some important drawbacks. Especially when not being able to ask follow-up questions. - But to easily overcome this, recruiters can make notes of questions as they watch the video and follow up with these questions when they have a face-to-face interview with the candidates.
Video interviews are a great way to get much more detailed information about your candidates in the initial stage of hiring.
Reference the candidates' CV
You should then be able to identify which candidates are suitable by referencing their CV or other application materials.
Leverage social media
You can also use online tools such as LinkedIn and Google search results to help you find the best possible candidates.
Inform candidates
Once you have identified the most suitable candidates, it is important that you contact them promptly via direct messaging, phone or email so they know they are being considered for an interview. You also need to notify the unsuccessful candidates too. Highlight their reason for being unsuccessful, this will give them a positive candidate experience and give your business a better reputation.
Invite successful candidates to interview
The last step in this process is arranging interviews with those who were selected.
Discrimination Laws
It is illegal to treat an applicant less favourably because of certain things like their age, disability, spent criminal convictions, trade union membership etc.
What is the Best Tool or Strategy for Shortlisting Candidates?
Often, recruiters are faced with a long list of candidates who are all qualified enough for the job.
A recruiter’s goal is to shortlist these candidates and get in touch with the best ones.
The best way to do this is by using an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) or a CRM (Customer Relationship Management). These tools help recruiters filter out unqualified candidates and focus on those who are most likely to be interested in the job opening.
An ATS or CRM will also ensure that there is a good match between the candidate and the company.
What is candidate scoring?
Candidate scoring is the process of assigning a score to a candidate based on the information that you have. This score is then used to shortlist or reject candidates.
Scoring can be done in many ways, and it all depends on what information you have about the candidate. The most common way of scoring is by using a numeric scale, where a higher score means that they are more suitable for your company.
We’ve written a useful guide on candidate scoring which you can read about here: Behavioral interview scoring matrix.
Common Difficulties in Shortlists and How to Easily Solve Them
It is always hard to find the right candidate for a position. The hiring process usually takes a lot of time and effort, but it can be made easier with careful consideration.
For example, instead of just looking at one person's resume, an employer should look for 3-4 candidates with the same qualifications and then compare their resumes and interview them.
The employer should also make sure to speak to people who have worked with the candidate before or someone who knows them well enough. This will help get a sense of what type of person they are.
How long does shortlisting take
The process of shortlisting candidates is vital for any employer. The person you choose will have a huge impact on the future of your company and the quality of your work. In order to succeed, you need to find someone who has experience in the field and matches your expectations.
The time it takes to shortlist a candidate depends on the complexity of the role and the number of candidates. For example, if you are looking for a web designer, it will be easier to shortlist candidates than if you are looking for a CEO.
Shortlisting is one of the most important stages in the recruitment process. It allows companies to narrow down their search and find the best possible candidate for the role they’re hiring for.
Conclusion: The Rules and Guidelines That Makeup Effective Shortlists And Why You Should Follow Them
The following are the guidelines that make up effective shortlists:
- A shortlist should be a selection of candidates who have been narrowed down to the best and most suitable options.
- It should be made up of a small number of candidates so that it is easier to compare them.
- They should be ranked according to their suitability.
Recruitment is an integral part of the HR process for any organisation. It is important to keep your recruitment process organised and efficient.
When you shortlist your candidates, you are organising your recruitment process effectively. Shortlisting helps you get started on your recruitment process. You are also the visualise your ideal candidates, whittle them down in order of suitability and manage your candidate pools effectively.
We hope you enjoyed this post on shortlisting criteria examples. Here at Reworking, we are a video interviewing tool, designed to improve the recruitment process. - especially the candidate experience! For more information on how we can improve your recruitment process, get in touch with us here.