How to Outsource Your New Hire Screening Process

Your business is growing. You have a ton of work to do, and not enough people to get the jobs done. You know it’s time to add more people to your team, but that in itself involves a lot of steps and takes a good deal of time. Time to:

• Create a job description for the position.
• Review and sort through resumes and applications.
• Coordinate with candidates for phone and in-person interviews.
• Hold multiple interviews with various candidates.

All on top of all this work you’re doing that you so desperately need help with! I know what you’re thinking right now: Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Often when prospective customers come to us for virtual assistance, we ultimately determine that what they really need is an in-house person or team. But often, we’re still able to assist them in assembling their team.

If you need a little help hiring help for your business, here’s what you need to know about outsourcing your new hire screening process to a virtual assistant.

Advertising the Initial Job Description

A virtual assistant can handle posting your job description to various recruiting sites, such as Indeed, SimplyHired, LinkedIn, and more. If your business is involved with any trade organizations that offer job boards, ask your VA to post descriptions there, too.

Only you know the exact skills you need from your new hire, so you’ll need to provide the job description for posting. But if you’re not sure where to start, a good VA can help you research job descriptions for similar positions and proofread the wording of your final description.

Sorting Resumes to Identify Qualified Candidates

With some guidance as to your likes, dislikes, and the qualifications you’re looking for in an ideal candidate, a virtual assistant can do the heavy lifting of sorting through dozens (even hundreds!) of applications looking for a handful of well qualified candidates.

At this stage, it may be helpful to spend a few minutes reviewing a small initial batch of resumes and let your assistant know what stood out to you about the applicants you’re most interested in. From there, your VA can take over sorting through the remaining resumes and identifying potential candidates with your expectations in mind.

Conducting First-Round Screening Interviews

If your list of qualified candidates extends beyond the time you have to conduct interviews, consider adding a first round “screening interview” as a beginning step toward identifying a small group of standout best candidates. Your virtual assistant can represent your business in initial email communications, schedule and conduct a first-round phone interview, and follow up with the candidates.

To do this, your VA will need access to a conference line (preferably with recording capability), basic information about your business, the job description for the position, and questions you’d like asked in an initial screen. Also provide follow up instructions for your VA to give to the candidate, such as when they can expect to hear back from you. The more clear your expectations are at this stage, the better your results from a first-round screening will be.

Following Up and Providing Feedback About Candidates

After the first-round interviews, have your virtual assistant send you the recording of each call along with notes and feedback about the candidates. Depending on your relationship and level of trust with your VA, you can ask for their honest assessment about standout candidates—but remember to back up their feedback with your own review. Ultimately, only you know the exact set of skills and personality traits you’re looking for!

Coordinating In-Person Interviews

When you’re ready, have your virtual assistant reach out to your final handful of candidates to schedule in person interviews in your office. Your VA can manage your schedule, set expectations for the interview, and answer any questions candidates might have. By eliminating this legwork, you’ll dramatically reduce the time you spend coordinating the interview process.

Of course, not every part of the hiring process can be outsourced. These are your prospective employees, and ideally you will be working with them for a long time. So it is worth the investment to put some personal time and energy into the hiring process in order to build a rapport with your future colleagues. But if you’re strapped for time, there are many ways to delegate the logistics of the hiring process so you can get back to focusing on your business.