If you do a search for “the hiring process” on the internet, most articles you find these days identify it as an ongoing series of steps that begin with the identification of a hiring need and end with the Post Hire process. Likewise, most information you find about setting up a hiring process starts with the need to fill a position and then encompasses, to varying degrees, the steps from creating an advertisement to making a hiring decision. This may lead to a mistake in perception that the hiring process begins with having an open position. This perception can lead to frustration through ill-conceived position descriptions and advertisements, and impulsiveness in the hiring process and acceptance of candidates that do not quite meet the actual requirements of the position being filled. I take the position that the hiring process should begin with a documented and detailed understanding of the positions that make up an organizational structure, not just the need to fill a position.
Without a well-documented description of each position you run several risks. First you run the risk that job postings for similar jobs will be inconsistent. This brings on the risk that candidates hired will have varying degrees of experience and skill that may not be compatible with or even meet the actual minimum requirements of a job. You run the risk of including requirements in job postings that are not actually needed to perform the job.
With a detailed, documented description of each position you will be able to: produce accurate, consistent job advertisements, create a hiring process (including effective interview questions) that is fair, that accurately identifies the requirements of the positions to be filled and that leads to hiring candidates that best meet the needs of the company.
This series will cover creating a hiring process to use when hiring software developers but is pertinent to hiring other types of employees as well. We will examine some pre-hire steps that should be completed before you begin a hiring cycle. These include, defining positions, understanding your corporate culture and creating a solid hiring process. We will then look at the steps of the hiring cycle including: creating effective advertisements, resume and candidate screening, and creating effective interview questions. Finally we will discuss making an offer and the post hire process.
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