Interviews are the most crucial part of the hiring process. But have you ever found yourself wondering how to objectively evaluate candidates during an interview? Are you worried that relying on your own subjective opinion might lead to bias in the hiring process? If so, you’re not alone!

That’s why many recruiters and hiring managers use interview scorecards. A scorecard provides a standardized method for evaluating candidates, ensuring fairness in the hiring process. By using the same criteria for all candidates, it makes it easier to compare their performance and make objective decisions.

An interview scorecard is a tool that allows you to preset interview rules to score candidates based on the qualities required to perform a job. It helps employers make sure that interviewers are evaluating candidates based on the same criteria, making it easier to compare their performance and make objective decisions.

Sounds interesting, right? Let’s dive deeper into the topic of interview scorecards and explore how it can benefit your hiring process. Are you ready to take the next step in finding the best candidates for your company?

What is an Interview Scorecard? 

An interview scorecard is a tool that can be used by an interviewer or interview committee to rate and compare candidates. These scorecards may use existing measurement scales to rank candidates, such as: 

• Likert scale: A Likert scale can measure attitudes and opinions on a point scale like yes or no. For example, you could use a five-point scale, with one being inadequate and five being exceptional. 
• Numerical rating scales: It works like Likert scales, using point systems but does not use descriptive language. For example, you could use an eight-point scale with only numbers. 
• Open-ended question: It assesses items that do not fit into the scorecard categories. For example, in this section, you could write about what impressed you, like a candidate’s video resume impressed you.

What is the Purpose of Interview Scorecards?

The point of a scorecard is to ask candidates about specific job requirements that are important for the job they are interviewing for and evaluate how they answer. That is why it is critical to understand the job description so that the questions on the scorecard are focused and relevant to the role. 

Before posting the job to job boards or social media, you must create an interview scorecard. It is done so that every member of the hiring team is aware of the key criteria before screening any applications. 

A scorecard can help recruiters quickly get rid of applications that aren’t right for the job and save time during the first phase of screening applications.

The best interview scorecard can have questions about relevant skills, desirable personality traits, and specific work experience. 

Because each job has different requirements, it is impossible to recommend how many questions should be on the scorecard. It highly depends on the position, the company, and the hiring team. However, it is preferable to have a few well-thought-out and constructed questions rather than a large number of vague questions. 

Putting together a possible scorecard for each job opening takes time, but the results are worth it.

How Can Interview Scorecards Benefit Your Recruitment Process?

Although some people regard scorecards as a waste of time, with some training, you can get your hiring team on board with the interview scoreboard idea.

These ten advantages of using interview scorecards during interviews can persuade even the most adamant skeptics on your hiring team that scorecards are the way to go: 

1. Interview scorecards enable hiring team members to analyze and fully comprehend the job criteria before the interviews start. 
2. They also eliminate unrealistic expectations, which can lead to jobs remaining open for extended periods, negatively impacting department performance.
3. Because each panel member’s observations can lead to a more fair analysis in final group scoring, interview scorecards are an excellent tool in panel interviews. 
4. When a candidate goes through a series of interviews, a scorecard can help to assess the consistency of the candidate’s responses. 
5. Scorecards encourage collaborative hiring by encouraging team collaboration before and after interviews. 
6. Personal bias can be eliminated during interviews using interview scorecards, and team members can identify if anyone harbors personal prejudices unknowingly after the interview.
7. Interview scorecards allow interviewers to focus solely on job requirements, resulting in consistent interviews and ethical decision-making. 
8. If you have a large team with specific skill requirements, you can standardize and use the same scorecard across your organization. 
9. Create your top hires’ scorecards, which you can use to train and upskill existing employees. 
10. When interviewing, a scorecard can help you remember each candidate, reducing the mental blur that recruiters can experience when they see too many candidates.

Pros and Cons of Interview Scorecards 

There are two sides to every coin. So, before using interview scorecards in your recruitment strategy, first, understand the pros and cons of this hiring methodology:

Interview Scorecard Pros

• Keeping the interview on track: Interviews are much more likely to go as planned when pre-selected questions are used. Each candidate is interviewed similarly using an objective rating system. 
• Maintaining consistency in interviews: When interviewing people for a position, scorecards help ensure that interviews are consistent from candidate to candidate and that interviewers follow an objective outline of questions.
• Supporting the objective evaluation of candidates: Interviews can quickly become subjective due to the interviewer’s biases, personal preferences, and first impressions of candidates. Moving through the interview with scorecards is an excellent way to maintain objectivity and consistency while rating interviewees on the same scale. 
• Assisting interviewers in remembering each candidate: When conducting multiple interviews, it’s easy to lose track of the details of each interview and keep opinions about candidates separate. However, interviewers can quickly review each candidate and recall how the interview went by using scorecards to track thoughts and impressions.

Interview Scorecard Cons 

• Limited information: Specific questions imply that a candidate can only respond in a limited number of ways. If you stick to a scorecard and only ask specific questions, you may benefit from learning other relevant information about the candidate that is missing from your scorecard questions. 
• Limited engagement: When an interviewer constantly looks at a scorecard, engagement between the interviewer and interviewee can be limited. For example, eye contact may be reduced when asking questions, and the interview may appear monotone. 
• Extra time: Implementing the use of scorecards may overwhelm traditional recruiters. As a result, interviews may take longer due to hiring managers’ limited knowledge of this approach.

What Are The Crucial Components to Examine via an Interview Scoreboard?

Do you know that a bad hire can cost you between $17,000 and $24,000? So yes, when your employees write resignation letters within a few months of joining, it can put a big dent in your recruitment budget. 

To avoid this, you need to include the right questions in your interview scorecard to hire employees who belong to your company and connect with your culture. 

An interview scorecard can vary from job to job. However, a scorecard must include the following questions:

Hard skill assessment 

Hard skills are typically taught — the skills required to complete a job. Reading, writing, language, math, coding, analytics, selling, social media, project management, and research are all examples of hard skills that are often tested. 

In technical jobs, it’s common to use skills assessment software to test hard skills, especially if the interviewer needs more specialized knowledge and experience to judge a candidate. 

Some common hard skill assessment questions are:

• Do they understand [insert coding language] sufficiently? 
• Can they demonstrate their abilities with [insert program or software]? 
• How well do they understand [insert problem here]?

Soft skill assessment

Soft skills, unlike hard skills, cannot be taught. On the other hand, soft skills reflect an individual’s interpersonal skills or ability to form relationships with others and communicate effectively. Unfortunately, these abilities are more difficult to evaluate because there is no single correct answer or a great way to assess how well someone communicates. 

This category is most likely influenced by unconscious bias because what one person perceives as poor interpersonal skills, another perceives as cultural or generational differences. Numerous statistics show how something as simple as smiling or sitting in a certain position can affect a candidate’s hiring credibility. 

There are tools available to help you measure soft skills. However, it is up to interviewers to assess soft skills during the interview and be aware of their own biases. Here are a few things to think about when evaluating soft skills. 

• What are their communication abilities (speaking, writing, and presenting)? 
• Do they have good time management skills? 
• What are their interpersonal abilities? 
• What are their leadership abilities? 
• How well do they work in a group? 
• How well do they function on their own? 
• How have they demonstrated their organizational citizenship? 
• In previous roles, how have they demonstrated initiative? 
• How will this individual fit into our culture?

How to Use the Interview Scorecard to Hire the Best Candidates? 

There are 5 easy steps you can take to use an interview scorecard effectively when implementing it into your hiring process:

Step 1. Go over the scorecard criteria

Discussing scorecard criteria with other members of your company or interviewing committee is critical so that everyone understands how it works. For example, if you intend to conduct your interviews, you may want to share your scorecards with others internally while comparing each rating. 

It allows people not involved in the hiring process to get to know each potential hire and share their thoughts. Likewise, if your hiring process includes an interviewing committee, it is critical to discuss the criteria, so everyone in your team understands how to rate candidates.

Step 2. Explain scorecards to candidates 

You must take notes during the interview if you are using scorecards. You can explain this to candidates to ensure they understand that you actively listen while writing. 

It also gives your candidates more information about your hiring process and how you intend to select the position. You can briefly describe your scorecards or share the individual rating criteria with your interviewees while explaining them.

Step 3. Examine the candidate scorecards 

After you’ve finished the interviews, compare your scorecards. This process can help you determine which candidates best fit the position and company culture. When reviewing them, it is critical to examine each section of the scorecard to ensure that you or your committee considers all criteria. Then, you can compare them to decide who to hire or who should move on to the next round of interviews. 

Step 4. Make use of job-specific scorecards

If you’ve already created a job-specific scorecard and are hiring for the same position, you can use that scorecard again. Reusing interview scorecards can help your interviewing committee save time and keep the criteria consistent during the hiring process.

Step 5. Improve your writing abilities 

Practicing your writing skills can help you use interview scorecards more effectively, especially when dealing with open-ended questions. You may need to write notes for these scorecard sections about items discussed in the interview that do not fit into other criteria areas. 

Strong writing skills can assist you in taking notes quickly while maintaining active listening. It can help you learn more about each candidate and provide more context in the comparison process.

How to Create a Candidate Scoring Sheet?

Once you know what you want, creating an interview scoring sheet is fairly simple. To implement an interview rating sheet in your own company, take the following steps: 

Step 1. Conduct a structured interview with appropriate questions. 

The questions and scoring system are a candidate scoring sheet’s two most important components. However, you can only use scoring sheets effectively if you have a well-structured interview plan. 

If you still need to start using structured interviews in your business, implementing one is the first step toward more consistent, objective interviewing. First, consider the important soft skills in your industry and the most common dilemmas in your hiring process, and then select relevant questions.

Step 2. Think about adding more scoring categories. 

A firm handshake, eye contact, good preparation, and a professional presentation have always been important in interviews. However, their impact is frequently left to the hiring manager’s intuition. 

Instead, consider creating additional scoring categories along with the basic assessment questions. In this case, you can evaluate potential hires based on their conduct during the interview rather than just the questions. 

Step 3. Establish a transparent scoring system. 

If you ask two people what a numerical score means, they will likely have differing views. For example, one person may consider 5/10 a good, average score, whereas another may consider 7/10 a failure. As a result, you must explain the significance of each potential score to the interviewers.

As the number of possible scores increases, assigning distinct meanings to each one will become more challenging. As a result, scoring on a scale of 1-10 may not be optimal in most cases. Consider scoring on a 1-4 or 1-5 scale instead. For example, in a 1-4 scoring system, you could describe the values as follows: 

1: A poor response that omitted the main point of the question 

2: An incomplete response with good elements but significant flaws. 

3: An effective but flawed response that needs to be revised due to issues with the answer’s content or breadth. 

4: An ideal response that fully understood and answered the question while demonstrating high competence.

Step 4. Choose a format for your scoring sheet. 

The final and most forgiving step is the design of your scoring sheet. It should be fine as long as a scoring sheet lets the interviewer score each question and add all the scores. 

In addition, visual simplicity is generally preferable. Moreover, there is no need to have more than one column for each candidate you are scoring.

The Interview Scoring Sheet template and sample provide an organized method for evaluating the performance of candidates during an interview.

The template should include the questions asked by the hiring manager and a clear method of scoring the candidate’s responses. The template can be designed in various ways, it could be a single sheet containing the names of multiple candidates or a separate sheet for each candidate. The important thing to keep in mind is that the same set of questions should be used for all candidates to ensure fairness and consistency in the evaluation process.

Look no further, here is our Interview Scoring Sheet template and sample! This handy tool allows you to easily keep track of each candidate’s answers and score them based on their performance.

Download the sample format here

Parting Remarks 

As you can see, an interview scorecard can make your interview process simpler and faster. So, you can speed up the interview process and hire people without any personal preferences getting in the way. 

It can improve your hiring quality and reduce your recruiters’ workload. This guide has given you all the information you need to use interview scorecards as part of your hiring strategies. 

But if you don’t want to go through the hassle of advertising a job post and interviewing potential candidates, you can contact the SkillPad team. We can connect you with potential candidates based on your job requirements.

So, let’s connect today!

A recent study shows 100–200 applications are received for a job position. Yet another study says recruiters only spend 7.6 seconds reading a job application. 

That means you only have 7.6 seconds to impress recruiters with your resume.

With simple paper resumes, you might need more than a few seconds to get the attention of recruiters. But interactive video resumes can give you several opportunities to pique recruiters’ interests.

Your body language, expressions, attitude, confidence, and many other factors can make your application stand out in the crowd. 

Let’s walk through this guide to learn about video resumes and how to create one. 

What is a Video Resume?

A video resume is a brief video clip in which job seekers describe their skills and relevant experience. Like a paper resume, a video resume highlights what makes you unique and why you’re a good fit for the job you’re applying for. 

A video resume can be used in addition to a paper resume to help you stand out from the crowd. They’re especially useful for showcasing your presentation and creative abilities in creative professions.

When to Use a Video Resume?

Video resumes are the best way to stand out in the crowd. And, in certain situations, visual resumes work better than paper resumes, such as: 

Showcase soft skills

Your work experience and technical skills play significant roles in whether you get a job, but your soft skills are also essential. 

Video resumes make it easier to show off your skills, personality, and work history than a simple text document. A potential employer can also quickly see if your personality fits with the company’s work culture by watching your video resume.

Highlight your brownie points

Most employers scan traditional resumes quickly to save time, which means they might miss your accomplishments. However, the viewer retention rate can improve due to video resumes’ quick and engaging nature. This can help you communicate important information about yourself more effectively.

Put the focus on your technical skills 

Everyone desires an employee who can quickly adapt to changing circumstances. A video resume is an excellent way to demonstrate this ability. 

Keeping up with new job application trends shows your employer that you are dynamic and ready to pick up and learn new skills to stay relevant. Setting yourself apart from the usual way of applying for a job can also show your employer that you know how to use technology.

Pros and Cons of Video Resume

Pros 

• Showcase your creativity. A video is an excellent way to demonstrate your “savoir être” and professionalism when applying for creative jobs. It demonstrates that you’re plugged in. For example, if you’re applying for a marketing or public relations job, a video CV can demonstrate your knowledge of current trends. 
• Illustrates your technical knowledge. Even if the job you’re applying for has nothing to do with technology, the more you can demonstrate your knowledge, the more likely you’ll be hired. 
• Indicates your ability to communicate verbally. Companies are looking for candidates with strong verbal communication skills for almost every position, especially for sales, management, and customer service positions.
• Present your language abilities. If you are applying for a job in a foreign country, video CVs are an excellent way to demonstrate your proficiency in multiple languages. 
• Ascertain your willingness to take a risk. Trying something new always involves a risk. Share your video CV with the hiring manager to demonstrate your willingness to take risks—it could be the decision that gets you the job.

Cons

• A significant time commitment. It will take a long time to create one-of-a-kind, professional-quality videos. You can only send things of good quality to recruiters. Ensure your CV is tailored to the position for which you are applying. 
• You could do better on camera. Let’s face it: we weren’t all born to be stars. So, stick to traditional resumes if you can’t convey confidence and enthusiasm on screens. 
• Not all companies prefer video resumes. A video CV is inappropriate for all businesses, especially those concerned about discriminatory hiring practices. 

How Long Should a Video Resume Be?

Limit your video resume to two minutes; anything longer is asking too much of the hiring manager. The ideal time is 60-90 seconds. 

Read your script aloud, or even better, record yourself reading it and then play it back. Ensure to make the first 10 seconds of your video interesting because user engagement drops after that. 

Do I Need Video Resume?

All this buzz about the video resume—must have made you wonder whether it is the best option for you. Although video resumes have been a ‘thing’ for years, some industries and employers still do not find them suitable for hiring new candidates. 

So, by researching the culture of the industry or company you’re trying to break into, you can determine whether a video resume will help or hurt your chances. 

What are the cultural standards? What does the typical hiring manager look like? Are they more traditional, or do they value diversity?

These are some basic questions you should ask yourself before investing in a video resume. Always remember, trying something new always has repercussions. So, be 100 percent sure about your needs before using this technology.

What to Include in Your Video Resume?

Consider your video resume as a mini-interview. Your attire, demeanor, language, and topic all matter in video CVs. Here are a couple of things that you must include in your video resume to get a good response from recruiters: 

• Tell your story. A video resume is an excellent way to highlight something from your background that impresses the hiring manager. If you can’t think of anything to say, outline your background and consider how your experiences are related. What have you previously learned that qualifies you for this new position? Just be free and tell your story with full conviction. 
• Create a job-specific video. Create a unique video for each job you apply for. You can better explain how your background qualifies for that specific job and include a sentence or two about why you want to work for the company. 
• Include a call to action. Finish the video with a strong call to action, a sentence or two that explains the next step and encourages viewers to take it. For example, you could request that the hiring manager looks at your LinkedIn profile to see the rest of your work history. A strong call to action can mean the difference between a video that gets results and one that merely entertains the hiring manager.

What Not to Do While Creating a Video Resume?

Before you start making your video CV, ensure to avoid the following mistakes at all costs: 

Not preparing in advance 

Please prepare before pressing the record button to avoid a sloppy, unstructured video that can turn off potential employers. We recommend writing a script to avoid this. Begin by introducing yourself and explaining why you’re applying for the position. 

You must emphasize your experience and skills by linking them to key phrases from the job description and person specification. 

Give examples of how you’ve used your skills to solve problems, but don’t ramble because the video should be 2-3 minutes long. Finish by stating your career objectives and thanking the viewer for their time. It’s also a good idea to express your eagerness to hear from them.

Using a mobile camera to record video 

You can use your phone’s camera to film your video if it has a decent camera with high resolution and HD capabilities, like an iPhone. If it doesn’t, you are at risk of having a grainy and poorly lit film. If your phone isn’t up to the task, you might want to borrow a good digital camera or camcorder.

Cluttered background 

A cluttered background can distract viewers and make it difficult for them to hear everything you have to say. In addition, it’s simply not aesthetically pleasing or professional. So, look for another location if your student apartment is filthy and you can’t find a quiet place to film your video.

Not dressed up to impress 

You would dress well for an interview, so don’t dress sloppily for your video CV. Instead, make sure you’re well-dressed and groomed to impress your potential employer and boost your confidence, though you don’t have to wear a formal suit and tie. 

You can wear something that makes you look professional yet comfortable. During a video resume shoot, you can’t go wrong with simple denim jeans and a checkered shirt.

Easy Tips to Create Video Resume 

Have a quick look at these easy tips to create an attractive and impressive video resume;

Understand your target audience

Think about who will watch the video and adjust the script and location to fit their needs. For example, a video created for a position at an international bank may differ from one made for a start-up company.

Concentrate on a single experience or skill

 Since your video resume is so brief, it is best to focus on a single topic. For example, you can discuss a specific project you excelled at or demonstrate a skill, such as a website coding. Add to your resume and cover letter by talking about something that is only mentioned in one of them. 

Discuss an aspect not included in your application 

If you left something out of your cover letters, such as volunteer experience or a specific skill, consider demonstrating it in your video. Consider talking about a hobby or an interest. Make it a point to demonstrate how your interest relates to the position, company, or industry.

Examine the company’s policies

If an employer asks for a video resume, make sure to follow any rules they give about what to include, how long it should be, how to edit it, and how to send it. Also, some employers might ask you to follow a certain prompt when making your video resume, so make sure your video meets their needs.

Video Resume Examples to Inspire

You can watch these job seekers’ video resumes to understand better how to create one for yourself:

Saji Nair

Saji Nair presents herself, her experience, and her related skills in a 90-second video and then summarizes why a company should hire her. With a plain white background and good lighting, she keeps the video professional.

Mark Leruste

In this video resume, Mark uses humor to show off his skills, experience, and education in a unique and interesting way. With this video resume, Mark was able to land his dream job! 

Alex

In this video, Alex structures her CV more like a job interview, portraying both herself and an “interviewer” who questions her about her experience. She makes a simple, fun, and informative resume video with voiceover, animation, and photos.

How to Use a Video Resume to Land Your Dream Job?

Once you have created an exciting video resume, you can use it in several ways to land your dream job, such as:

• You can upload your video resume to YouTube and easily share it with potential recruiters. Recruiters can also search your profile on YouTube. 
• You can also upload your video resume to Linkedin, Instagram, and other social media profiles. 
• Sharing your video resume on social media job groups is also a good idea to reach more people. 
• You can also add your video to your professional website or freelancing websites like Fiverr. 

Top Tools For Creating Video Resumes

Biteable 

If you’ve already edited your video resume and want to add music, text overlays, or opening titles, Biteable is the option for you. Biteable has many video templates that are easy to change, so once you sign up for this platform, you can choose a template and add a video to it.

Animaker

Animaker includes a variety of video resume templates for designers, marketers, and developers, allowing you to create your own resume in just a few minutes. In addition, this cloud-based software allows you to upload your videos, photos, and music. Still, it also includes an extensive library of animation and music that you can use to make your resume more appealing.

Filmora 

Filmora is a video recording and editing software that does it all. It is simple to create a video resume with Filmora. You can record your webcam and voice simultaneously or import the footage you want to use in your video resume. All segments that do not fit into the structure of your video resume can be easily removed.

Let’s Record a Video Resume Now!

There you go, job seekers! You can now start recording and editing professional video resumes to land your first job. 

This guide has provided you with everything you could possibly need to create a virtual resume. However, if you are a fresher or have no clue how to use this new resume technology, don’t worry. 

The SkillPad team can provide you with 101 coaching sessions to help you land a good job. You can also use our resume templates to create a powerful resume in no time. 

Let’s get in touch to learn more about video resume creation.

The skill gap and talent shortage are serious recruitment issues. According to McKinsey, 87% of respondents are already experiencing the talent gap. 

The talent gap problem will become more difficult in the future as a result of high resignation rates and hybrid work environment demand. 

A study shows that there won’t be enough people to fill 85 million job openings by 2030, which will cost $8.5 trillion. 

Businesses can avoid this situation with the proper talent relationship management system. They can follow the candidate sourcing strategy to find the right talent for the 

organization. 

Let’s follow this guide to learn all about candidate sourcing. 

What is Candidate Sourcing?

Candidate sourcing means finding the best people with the right skills, education, and interests for open jobs at your company or at the company of a client. Candidate sourcing looks for both active and passive candidates in order to find the best candidate for the job.

What is Candidate Sourcing Software?

Candidate sourcing software allows you to easily source, screen, and schedule interviews with candidates. In addition, modern candidate sourcing software lets you post to multiple job boards with a single click, create a personalized career page in minutes, efficiently screen candidates, and much more.

Candidate Sourcing Vs Recruiting: Key Differences

While sourcing and recruiting are distinct, they work well together. Sourcing lays the groundwork for successful recruitment. 

As previously stated, sourcing is the process of looking for candidates, while recruiting is the process of evaluating them.

The first step in making a successful hire is to find candidates. 

First, the hiring department figures out what qualifications and skills are needed, and then it looks for the best candidates. This sourcing goes beyond simply posting on a job board; it involves actively seeking out the talent you require and reaching out to them. 

In these conversations, your recruiters would start talking to qualified candidates about the open role or future open roles, trying to get them to apply or find out how interested they were. But, again, the only reason to use sourcing is to build a reliable pool of applicants from which recruiters can pull when they need to hire people quickly.

The term “recruiting” refers to the entire hiring process. It involves finding qualified candidates to build a talent pool, going over resumes, holding interviews, and getting new employees up to speed. 

Companies need a lot of people to choose from if they want to be sure they can do each of the steps above. As a result, sourcing should be an essential component of any recruitment strategy.

How Does Candidate Sourcing Work?

While the talent sourcing program varies from company to company, most recruiters include four basic steps in their process, which are as follows:

• Developing a sourcing strategy and plan. This includes identifying candidates during the company’s culture and current or future positions. The step may also include determining where the sources will look for candidates. 
• Implementing the sourcing strategy and plan. Sourcers locate and network with the qualified candidates identified during the planning process. For example, connecting with people on social media, emailing and communicating with candidates, attending events, or browsing alumni and trade school events.
• Assessing the talent pool. Once a sufficient number of candidates has been assembled, sourcers can vet the list to determine which candidates they believe fit in with the company and best fulfill the duties of a specific job. 
• Moving qualified candidates through the talent pipeline. Once recruiters have vetted their list for the best talent, they can pass it on to the people in charge of the talent pipeline—a smaller list of candidates deemed qualified to enter the hiring process.

Key Metrics to Consider While Sourcing Candidates

The key to competitively sourcing talent is to measure your sourcing process over time to optimize or realign resources invested in various sources. 

Here are five diagnostic candidate sourcing metrics to monitor: 

Time for source hiring 

The metric is the time it takes to hire a candidate from the time they are first sourced. These metrics aid in allocating resources to channels that produce the right fit at the right time. It also helps you find and fix all bottlenecks in the hiring process, which affects the time it takes to hire someone.

Source-specific hiring costs 

The metric allows you to track the returns on your sourcing investments, or ROI. 

Candidate pipeline throughput 

The candidate pipeline throughput, also called funnel throughput, is the rate at which candidates convert at each stage of the hiring process. It is especially effective for roles that hire frequently or in large numbers. It tells you how good the applicants are that come from a certain source, so you can figure out which sources or job boards work for you and which ones don’t.

Number of rejected candidates 

The metric provides information on rejected candidates and the source from which they came. This allows you to identify rejection patterns and drop or adjust channels that do not bring candidates who are a good fit for your roles. For example, if you notice that most of your rejected candidates came from LinkedIn, you can either revise your job description or eliminate the channel. 

Offer declined 

There are many reasons why candidates turn down job offers, such as counter-offers from their current employers, not wanting to move, low pay, etc. If you know why a candidate turned down an offer, you can change your sourcing and recruiting methods to find and hire the right people.

Benefits of Using ATS for Candidate Sourcing 

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a tool businesses and recruitment agencies use to manage the hiring process. It makes it easier to keep track of the best candidates from the time they apply until they are hired. 

Employers can use this tracking software to find out about potential employees and qualified candidates and store that information. In addition, ATS can help implement talent sourcing strategies in many ways, such as: 

• Manage all your sourcing channels – job boards, career sites, referrals, social media, and so on – from a single platform. 
• Post jobs to all major job boards, including Indeed, Adzuna, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter, and manage them all from a single location. 
• Applicants from all sourcing channels will be funneled into a single system (the ATS) where you can manage them. 
• All conversations with candidates are kept in one place (the conversations tab). Your co-sourcers can consult them at any time! 
• Collaborate with your team on sourcing decisions, view candidate profiles, and leave comments for one another in a single, easily accessible location. 
• Archive the best candidates in a talent pool, engage with them, and invite them to pursue appropriate roles as they become available. 
• Create a thriving talent pool by saving the best profiles you find during the sourcing process. 
• Post jobs on social media and monitor their status in the applicant tracking system. As a result, it is now much easier to find social talent. 
• Improve your sourcing by obtaining reports on time to fill, cost per hire, and pipeline throughput.

Why Include Candidate Sourcing in Your Recruitment Strategy? 

Adding candidate sourcing to your recruitment strategy can help reduce the resignation rate by hiring culture-fit candidates. It can also help with the following:

It raises the caliber of hires

When you actively seek out the best candidates, you better understand what the position and the company require, leading to better hires. 

It broadens the hiring range

Talent sourcing helps organizations build a more diverse pool of candidates because it takes time to find the best person for an open position. Instead, they already have a pipeline of qualified candidates, which gives them more time and options for filling roles with more diverse talent. 

It saves time and money on hiring

Talent sourcing cuts down on these costs because you’ll already have a pool of qualified candidates ready to fill jobs as they open up.

It strengthens your employer’s brand

The employer brand of a company is its reputation, and sourcing talent is a key part of building this brand. 

When your company shows interest in candidates and keeps them up to date on open positions, initiatives, product updates, and employee stories, the company becomes more familiar and trustworthy to these passive candidates.

Best Candidate Sourcing Strategies

Here are some of the best candidate sourcing strategies to hire the perfect candidates for your job openings: 

Re-engage with qualified dropped talent 

If you take the time to find qualified candidates, you might end up with a good hire and candidates who are also qualified for other positions. 

Utilize the past work of your team by starting each new search with the people who have already given your team time and who you have determined are qualified to work for your company. If you want to work well with candidates who have already been hired, you need to have a plan for how to get in touch with them.

Use offline recruitment strategies 

There’s no denying that online channels increase your engagement. However, offline recruitment methods remain a powerful force. Going offline and meeting people in person at events is an excellent way to find new candidates. 

For example, attend job-related, industry-specific conferences and events, or organize your meetups to bring together groups of people you want to meet.

Leverage your employee network 

Organizations can increase their talent pool by recruiting through their employees’ networks. Hold candidate sourcing sessions with your team to find out if anyone in the networks of your employees would be a good fit for one of your open jobs. 

Your employees can help you find untapped talent and get more candidates who know them to respond. For example, Facebook can show your employees different candidate search results based on their social graph, allowing you to find candidates you would not have found otherwise.

Get the right tool

Anyone who is sourcing has several balls in the air at the same time. Managing all that activity in documents and spreadsheets can quickly become overwhelming, but that’s what most recruiters had to do earlier. 

When you use the right tools for recruiting, you can speed up your process, stay organized, and find the best candidates.

Top Candidate Sourcing Tools 

Since we are on the topic of recruiting tools, let’s check out the best candidate sourcing tools:

Talentbin 

Monster’s Talentbin is a massive database that contains millions of profiles. Its primary focus is locating passive candidates via boolean search and social media recruiting. They also give you a lot of information from candidates’ social media accounts that you can use to get in touch with them. 

Zillionresumes 

ZillionResumes.com is a resume aggregator that collects resumes from thousands of other sources. It provides you with the opportunity to find “hard-to-find” candidates. You can also get lists of resumes that match your search criteria from the platform. 

HiringSolved 

HiringSolved helps you find candidates from anywhere in the world and search in any language. It also has an interesting feature that lets you look for candidates who are similar to someone you upload to their system.

Parting Thoughts

Candidate sourcing tools can make it easy to find candidates for your organization using data-driven strategies. But artificial intelligence algorithms can help you only to a certain extent. 

A humane approach is always essential to find the best candidate. And for that, you can always consult SkillPad. 

We combine data-driven strategies with a human approach to find culture-fit candidates for your organization. We have a vast talent pool that can help you find the perfect candidate for a role. 

Get in touch with our team today to learn more about our data-driven and human-driven candidate sourcing strategies.

On average, a corporate job opening receives 250 applications. As a result, screening, shortlisting, and inviting job applicants to the next step can overwhelm a recruitment workflow. 

Recruiters have to spend long hours screening each application, which they could have used to create new recruitment strategies. According to the latest recruitment analytics, recruiters spend 23 hours screening candidates for a job. 

But thanks to technology that can read resumes, you can quickly add skilled and qualified applicants to your recruitment funnel. 

Resume parsing is a useful tool for sifting through a lot of job applications to find the best ones. Let’s understand this technology in detail. 

What is Resume Parsing?

Resume parsing is an automatic way to store and look at job applications for a specific position. AI technology is used by resume parsing software to look for certain keywords in a resume document and choose the right job applications. 

This software makes it easy for recruiters to select ideal candidates from a large pool of applications. In addition, resume parsers make the business recruitment workflow faster and more accurate. 

Why Must You Use Resume Parsing?

No matter how effective a job description you write, you are bound to get some irrelevant job applicants. You will get applicants who do not match your job’s skills and qualifications. Sometimes you will also receive applications with a good skill set, but you aren’t hiring those candidates now. 

In these situations, resume parsing can get rid of all the useless applications so that your hiring team can focus on the good ones. Besides saving your time, this recruitment technology can help with the following:

Remove Unconscious Biases

When a recruiter screens a resume, they look for specific points to build contact between themselves and the candidate. There is a chance of unconscious bias here. A resume parser can help ensure no bias is involved during recruitment.

Extensive Candidate Search

ATS (Application Tracking Software) and a resume parser can help you find candidates more quickly. An ATS includes tools for conducting a thorough search for the candidates you seek. A resume parser, for example, can help you find keywords, while an applicant tracking system keeps track of resumes and gives them scores based on how relevant they are.

Easy Candidate Management 

Using a resume parser, managing large candidates gets easier. Recruiters can filter candidates based on keywords, tags, and years of experience. These filters make it easier to find your ideal candidate.

Improve Candidate Experience 

Recruiters struggle to provide an excellent candidate experience when they have bulk applications to sort out. They can’t answer every candidate’s question and keep them up to date on the whole hiring process. It can cause poor candidate experience. 

Recruiters no longer need to spend time screening candidates because of resume parsing solutions. Instead, they can use that free time to try new recruitment strategies to improve the candidate experience. 

How Does Resume Parsing Work?

The first step in resume parsing is putting all of the applications for a certain job into the program that does the parsing. Then, based on what a recruiter wants, the program goes through each application and pulls out all the relevant ones. 

The relevant data consists of things like particular job skills, work history, contact details, educational credentials, professional certifications, etc. 

The resume parsing software can save the time of hiring managers. It can find the applications with relevant information and group them together, or it can get rid of candidates who don’t have it.

What Are the Challenges of Resume Parsing? 

Resume parsing programs have made it easy to screen potential candidates. The tools help to save time, streamline recruitment workflow and get a candidate their first job faster. 

Even though there are many benefits, recruiters have to deal with some problems when parsing resumes getting the results they want. Here are some challenges associated with resume parsing – 

Language Barriers 

When it comes to resume parsing, language is always a challenge. Based on a given input, AI algorithms scan specific words in resumes to shortlist the best candidates. 

Certain words have different meanings depending on the context. This makes it difficult for the parser to produce accurate results. 

Suppose you set a parser to shortlist candidates with copywriting skills. But, some candidates have used content writing instead of copywriting. As a result, you might lose a good candidate. 

No Specific Date Format 

The format for writing dates is not specified. As a result, all resume parsers can’t interpret the data in a different format. 

Plus, people use different date formats worldwide. For example, Americans use the MM/DD/YY date format. But, in contrast, Asians go for the DD/MM/YY format. 

A wrongly set date format can limit your resume prayer, leading to a potential candidate loss. 

No Scores for Creativity 

Resume parsers are data-driven tools. They work based on the data you feed them. These tools don’t consider emotions or passion. 

Some candidates might use graphics and visuals to showcase their skills. But, unfortunately, parsers aren’t programmed to consider such creative efforts. 

Resume parsers only recognize text elements like font style, rows, character spacing, etc. Therefore, if a resume isn’t formatted to meet parser guidelines, it can’t identify candidates. 

Candidates Can Manipulate Parsers 

Candidates can sometimes fool the resume parser into giving their resumes a higher score. There is a chance that the candidates will use keyword stuffing to make their resumes stand out. It implies that the resume parser is not always error-free.

Technical Knowledge 

There are no coding skills required to use the resume parser. But, recruiters must still have adequate training to use these tools, like what data to give, how to use a tool, etc. 

Top Rated Resume Parsing Tools

You can overcome resume parsing challenges with the right tools. For example, a good resume parsing software can identify keyword variations, font styles, etc. 

Here are the best resume-parsing tools: 

Rchilli

Rchilli is a leading resume parsing, matching, and data enrichment tool. The software uses NLP-based AI technology to parse resumes of any format. It supports various formats like doc, DOCX, RTF, HTML, etc. 

Key Features 

• Predictive analytics 
• Data extraction 
• Multiple language support 
• Contact management 

HireEZ

HireEZ is a perfect tool to maximize your recruiters’ productivity. It can find and engage suitable candidates faster. The HireEZ AI database has over 30 platforms and 700 million professional profiles listed. It helps to engage candidates with AI prioritization and instant contact details. 

Key Features 

• Resume parsing 
• Self-service portal 
• CRM 
• Candidate management 
• Performance management 
• Recruitment management 

Bullhorn

Bullhorn is a complete ATS and CRM software for staffing and recruiting solutions. Over 10,000 recruitment departments use this platform to boost sales, streamline tasks, and gain a competitive edge. 

Key Features 

• Job posting 
• Candidate tracking 
• Onboarding 
• Recruitment workflow management 
• Pipeline management 
• Resume parsing 

Zoho Recruit

Zoho Recruit is a system for keeping track of qualified applicants and moving them through the recruitment funnel. It helps to organize and track your job openings, resumes, contacts, and candidates. Your talent pipeline can be optimized with AI, analytics, and custom automation. 

Key Features 

• Background Screening 
• Social recruiting 
• Candidate tracking 
• Career page
• Resume search 
• Resume parsing 
• Assessment management 

Quick Tips to Work With Resume Parsing Software 

• Make sure your name is included in the filename of your resume. 
• To ensure maximum parsing compatibility, submit your resume in.docx format. 
• If you want to use a pdf, export it from MS Word.doc. NEVER SCAN A PDF AS AN IMAGE. 
• Avoid using headers and footers. 
• Throughout the document, use a single standard font. 
• Avoid using tables and columns. 
• Avoid using WordArt. 
• Don’t fiddle with the spacing.

Parting Note 

Resume parsing can bring ease to your recruitment funnel. You can quickly find the best candidates for a job role. But resume parsing has some challenges that you can’t ignore. 

If you find it hard to work with a resume parser, SkillPad can help you. In addition, we provide personalized recruiting services to businesses. Our team can understand your recruitment needs and connect you with the best candidates. 

Get in touch to find out more now!