How to Shortlist Applications in :Recruit Essentials
How to Shortlist Applications in :Recruit Essentials Welcome back to your :Recruit Essentials guides. Previously, we introduced you to :Recruit Essentials, the lite version of our premier :Recruit module of talent acquisition software. This comprehensive guide showed you how to effortlessly access the platform, navigate the dynamic dashboard, and seamlessly handle applications and tasks while also introducing key features. If you missed it, please read creating jobs in :Recruit Essentials so you’re all caught up before we get into applicant Screening and Shortlisting. Now that you know a little more about your new Talent Acquisition Platform, let’s get to the fun stuff! Once you start receiving applications, you should get into shortlisting right away. This will give you valuable insights into the job seekers applying for your vacancy, allowing you to evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies and make any necessary adjustments to your job ad. By attracting better-suited candidates, you’ll ensure the perfect match for the position and your organization. Once you start receiving applications, :Recruit Essentials enables you to easily shortlist applicants on an individual or bulk level. In this article, we’ll guide you through the shortlisting process to help you save time identifying the best talent for your organization. Shortlisting There are two ways to shortlist applications: individually or in bulk. Neither method is better than the other, it all depends on what you’re looking for and how detailed you’d like to be when shortlisting. Individual Shortlisting Individual shortlisting is the preferred approach when you need to meticulously review each applicant separately, enabling you to make careful and informed recruitment decisions. This method is particularly useful for roles that require a wide range of skills and experiences, where each candidate’s qualifications need to be thoroughly evaluated. Here are some tips to help you get started: Head to the ‘Applications’ tab Here, you’ll find all the applications for your vacancy. Click on a candidate’s name to view the details of their application. Navigate to the top menu bar. Here, you can move a candidate to another job, clone, or trash an application. View and edit a candidate’s ratings In this section, you can rate the candidate based on their interview, and reference checks. The ratings from screening questions are also consolidated into one number. 4. View and edit a candidate’s status Rate responses to screening questions Scroll down to view an applicant’s responses to screening questions. You can rate the responses using a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being a 100% answer). Add Suitability Comment Think of this as a whiteboard marker, not a permanent marker. The notes you take here can be edited or deleted later on, as your understanding of a candidate’s suitability changes over time. Activities All actions that you take on an application will “live” here. You can also use the buttons to take additional actions including: Add Note: This is a permanent note that is left on the application. Send Email: Send an email to the applicant. E-mail External: Allows you to email the application to an email address of your choice (e.g. a colleague). More useful tips: You can toggle the order of the sections on your application pages to best suit your process. Attachments can be manually added if you need them. Tasks can be assigned to yourself or another user, to progress an applicant and your recruitment goals. Bulk Shortlisting If you’re early in the recruitment process and want to be more efficient with screening and shortlisting, you might want to consider doing it in bulk. It allows you to streamline the shortlisting process, save time, and make decisions more effectively by applying consistent criteria across multiple applications. Our platform allows you to do that with an array of functions. See how below: Email Candidates By Status: This gives you the ability to target all applicants with a particular status in a given job. If you want to ensure that candidates who’ve already received a particular email template don’t receive a duplicate, you can select “Only New”. Change Status in Bulk: This allows you to bulk update applicants, for example, from “New” to “Unsuccessful”. Bulk External Email: You can forward applications via email to anyone, even someone who is not set up as a user in :Recruit Essentials. When you use this function, the recipient is sent an email with a list of hyperlinked names, which takes them to a web browser displaying an external copy of the application form for that person. All of the applicant details appear on that form. You can choose whether to include candidate attachments in the Bulk External Email. Bulk Move Applications: You can move selected applications to be housed in another job. CVSs: This gives you access to low-level reporting. This function extracts application information in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. Email Candidates: This function allows you to send bulk emails to candidates using email templates or a custom message. Consistent communication with your applicants is key to a great candidate experience, which positively impacts your employer brand. Next in :Recruit Essentials Shortlisting is a big and time-consuming part of the recruitment process. When a vacancy receives 100+ applications, it can be overwhelming for the hiring manager to review them all in one site. Scout Talent offers Talent Engagement services to help you spend more time with day-to-day tasks while we go through the applications and select the best talent from your talent pool. If this is something that you’re interested in, contact your Account Executive. In our next guide, we’ll go over email notifications on the platform. This will allow you to stay on top of any new application that comes through. Stay tuned.
3 :Essentials Features Clients Love (and you might too!)
Finding the perfect candidate for your team is crucial for the success of any organisation. However, the traditional hiring process can be time-consuming and inefficient, especially if you don’t have the right tools and technology to support your efforts. Lengthy wait times and inconsistent communication can frustrate both employers and candidates alike. That’s where :Essentials comes into play, helping you restructure how you manage your hiring process. :Essentials is an easy-to-use recruitment software designed to centralise job listings and candidate details. Its intuitive interface simplifies tasks such as posting job ads and screening applicants, facilitating a seamless user experience. For a quick recap on :Essentials, click below for a video overview. Behind this software lies our dedicated Client Success team. Passionate about assisting and collaborating with clients, they play a pivotal role in refining our products based on your feedback. Their enthusiasm for engaging with you ensures our solutions effectively address your recruitment challenges, simplifying the hiring journey. We recently caught up with this vibrant team to discuss their insights and tips for maximising your experience with :Essentials based on their interactions with clients. Read on to explore the top 3 :Essentials features our clients consistently love, and learn how they are helping them optimise their recruitment efforts. Top 3 :Essentials Features by Our Clients 1. Feature: Effortlessly create and post job ads Benefit: Save time by easily automating repetitive tasks Remember how long it took you to create and post job ads the last time you were hiring? A challenge many of our clients faced before using :Essentials was spending lots of time doing the repetitive task of crafting each and every job ad from scratch, adjusting formatting, and ensuring that the content is tailored to attract the right candidates. A fundamental process, with many necessary steps, but one that has great potential for automation. This process can be especially time-consuming when posting across multiple job boards or platforms, as each may have different requirements or preferences for job ad formatting. With :Essentials, you can say goodbye to inefficiency and wasting time on manual tasks. Our software allows you to effortlessly create and post job ads in a matter of minutes by duplicating an existing job vacancy in your account making it easier to input and edit all the necessary details about the position, including job titles, responsibilities, qualifications, and more. Once you’re done editing your job ad, you can share the link on multiple job boards so every candidate will get redirected to the same talent landing page keeping all applications in one place. The intuitive design of the platform ensures that even users with minimal technical expertise can navigate through the process seamlessly. You can preview your job ad before posting, ensuring that it looks polished and professional. :Essentials helps to minimise the hassle of manual posting and introduces an efficient experience that saves you time and energy. To learn more about this feature, Read the following step-by-step on how to create a job ad in :Essentials. 2. Feature: Save time shortlisting & selection by eliminating unqualified candidates from the start Benefit: Get immediate insight into your talent pool as soon as they apply Every position is unique, and your screening process should be as well. :Essentials’ empowers you to tailor your screening process by adding custom questions to your talent landing page. By adding screening questions to your talent landing page, you’re not only speeding up your screening and shortlisting & selection process but eliminating all the unqualified candidates who are applying for your vacancy. Some good examples of screening questions are pictured below: This time-saving feature is a game-changer in sifting through applicants, ensuring that only the most suitable candidates make it through the initial stages. Whether it’s aligning with job requirements or assessing cultural fit, the ability to use :Essentials to craft custom questions offers invaluable insights into applicants’ skills, experiences, and personalities. Armed with this information, you’re now equipped to make more informed hiring decisions and secure top talent for your organisation. Learn how to create and add custom questions to your job ads. 3. Feature: Keep candidates engaged during the hiring process using bulk communication Benefit: Don’t let great candidates slip away An issue many recruiters and hiring managers face is having an overwhelming number of applicants and not enough time to screen and shortlist each one. That can lead to missing opportunities to identify great candidates due to the manual process of receiving applications via email and not going through them all or not communicating with candidates in the hiring process in a timely manner. Research shows that 81% of candidates say that communicating status updates to them continuously would greatly improve their candidate experiences, and 52% of candidates say they don’t receive any communication in the two to three months after applying. The numbers are alarming and you could be losing top talent due to the lack of communication. The good news is that with :Essentials, you can send bulk communications to multiple candidates at once to inform them you’re still in the shortlisting & selection process and they should expect to hear from you soon. A simple email acknowledging the fact that a decision has not yet been made and that they’re still considered a qualified candidate can go a long way to helping you retain and keep the interest of top candidates. The same goes for unqualified candidates, if you’ve made up your mind and have candidates just sitting in your talent pool, let them know they did not make it to the next round and that you’ll keep them in mind for future vacancies. That shows respect for their time and allows them to keep looking elsewhere. It also shows how strong your employer branding is and how you care about people that want to join your team. Using :Essentials isn’t just about adopting a new HR tool; it’s about embracing a new approach to recruitment that can impact your organisation’s success. In today’s competitive landscape,
Create a Job Advertisement in :Recruit Essentials
Welcome back to your :Recruit Essentials guides. Previously, we spoke about your :Recruit Essentials dashboard and how easy it is to navigate within it. We also covered creating new job applications, reviewing tasks and how to navigate the system. By now, you should be able to create and view your vacancies and applications received. If you missed that step, please read Welcome to :Recruit Essentials so you’re all caught up before we get into how to create a job posting. Any successful recruitment campaign starts with a job ad. Within :Recruit Essentials, you can create jobs, and start posting your ads online. Note that as an :Recruit Essentials user, you’re able to publish a maximum of 3 jobs at any one time, not including any campaigns that our Recruitment Marketing team is running for you, nor does this include the initial expression of interest job that we create for you during implementation. How to create jobs in :Recruit Essentials There are two methods for creating a job in :Recruit Essentials. You can start from scratch by selecting the “New” button or you can duplicate an existing job or template. If you’re new to the platform, creating a job from scratch can help you become familiar with the fields and features of the tool. However, if you’re experienced with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), cloning an existing job ad will save you time. Please be aware that cloned jobs automatically copy all the populated fields, but you can edit them as needed. Therefore, it’s important to carefully review everything before publishing the job, as some fields may not be relevant to this particular job ad. If you require assistance at any point, please don’t hesitate to contact your Account Executive for support. Step #1: To create a new job, go to the Jobs Overview page Step #2: Click on the + sign, and you’ll see options to either create a new job or clone an existing one. If you opt to clone a job,l you’ll be prompted to select which one. Alternatively, you can clone a job from within the individual job that you’d like to replicate. Understanding tabs in job creation When you’re creating a job in :Recruit Essentials, there are a number of tabs you need to go through. See the list of tabs below: General Description Questions Sources Candidate Settings Attachments Automation Auto Status Question-Based Ratings Based Status Transition Advanced features We’ll go over what each tab contains and what can be achieved. The video below cycles through each tab, and helps you to get acquainted. General Tab This tab allows you to input or edit the global settings of your new job. Here’s what each of the items means: Job Details Reference: This is automatically generated, please don’t change this. Title: Input the job title as you want it to appear on your branded application page and website. City/Town: where the job will be located Expiry date and time: Every job needs an expiry date. This will close your job and remove the listing from your website automatically. Optional Fields Employment status: Is it a full-time role, part-time, or contract? This will appear on your job page and is important to job seekers. Salary info: Add the salary or salary range. Timezone: This can be set to any timezone you like, which is usually your current time zone. Please note the expiry date will close according to the timezone you chose, not the timezone you’re in. Number of Vacancies: How many of these roles are you hiring? This is an internal tool and isn’t displayed externally. Brand: Brand allows filters to be placed on the iFrame(Job Portal) so clients can filter what jobs show and what clients can see based on the Brand/Division of the company From email: Generally, you’ll leave this blank unless you want to override the default setting (which shows underneath). External Approval ID: If a client has an External Approval/Requisition process they can add the ID into the job settings to help streamline the process and keep that information all in the same place. Requisitions (Job details report): If there are approvals in the system they can select an approved approval in the drop-down list to match the job with. This is for reporting purposes and visibility. Location Fields: Where will the role be based? This will appear on the talent landing page and your website. Postal code/Zip Code: Add the postcode or zip code of your office, or where the vacancy will take place. State/Region/Province: Add the State/Region/Province of your office, or where the vacancy will take place. Language / Country: Where will the role be based? What language will be spoken at the place of work? Change this if your job is for another country. Tag list: Add keywords here that will help you search and work on your jobs more quickly from the Quick Search bar. Classification: Add the classification of your vacancy, ie.: accounting Additional Options Blind ratings Show title field Show gender field Visibility: An external box is connected to the external iFrame on your careers website so external applicants can apply. Job settings Application recipient: If you would like a user to receive all applications in an email as they come into the system, rather than signing into :Recruit to view the applications, you can select the recipient from the dropdown list attached to the ‘Recipient’ field. You are able to select more than one Recipient. Note: recipients will receive separate emails for each application received. Pinned users: You can pin a user to a job within the job settings so that the job appears under the Pinned Job section of their Dashboard for easy access when they log into the system. Description Tab This is where you provide a detailed description of the job role you are advertising. Include all the necessary information that potential candidates would need to know before applying. It’s important to mention essential skills, and educational requirements, and highlight
Use the Bulk External Email function
With our Bulk Email Function, you can effortlessly export candidate data, allowing your team leader to review it without the need for sharing login information and risking any compromise to information security.
How to Communicate With Candidates in Bulk Within :Recruit Essentials
How to Communicate With Candidates in Bulk Within :Recruit Essentials Clear and transparent communication is essential for fostering a positive relationship with potential hires. If your job ad includes the statement “only shortlisted applicants will be contacted,” it can create a negative impression right from the start. Candidates value clear and consistent communication to make informed decisions. It’s not solely about your organization’s goals but also a collaborative effort between you and the candidates to find the best fit for both sides. Keeping candidates informed and engaged or providing closure when needed helps them navigate their job search effectively. Managing communications with numerous candidates for each and every available or closed job vacancy can be a daunting task. However, with :Recruit Essentials, you have access to an optimal solution. Bulk candidate communications In :Recruit Essentials, you can conveniently engage with applicants in bulk for each job. Benefit from customizable pre-made email templates to efficiently communicate with candidates en masse. Additionally, streamline your recruitment workflow and enhance visibility by bulk updating the status of your candidates. How to set up bulk candidate communications Login to your :Recruit Essentials account. In the left-hand navigation panel, select “Jobs” then click through to the job you want to set up. Switch from the Job “Overview” to the “Applications” tab, as indicated by icon #1 below. Refer to icon #2 – select which candidates you’d like to email in bulk by ticking the box on the left-hand side. Hit the “Email” button indicated by icon #3 to compose your communications! Next in :Recruit Essentials Completing tasks in bulk can save a ton of time and effort. In our next guide, you’ll learn how to effortlessly and securely share application data with your organization’s leaders, without compromising login details or resorting to manual processes. Stay tuned!
Email Notifications on :Recruit Essentials
In a highly competitive job market, it’s crucial to communicate with applicants promptly and professionally. If you don’t respond promptly to talented candidates, your competitors will.Minimize the risk of losing out on excellent candidates by receiving timely email notifications for new applications. This way, you’ll be ready to reach out and expedite your recruitment processes.
Welcome to :Recruit Essentials
This guide is designed to help you become familiar with your new talent acquisition platform, :Recruit Essentials.
Reduce clutter by “viewing” attachments
Don’t clog your Downloads folder with endless applications. Instead, you can view attachments within :Recruit Essentials, provided that none of the data therein has been corrupted. This saves you time and keeps your desktop clutter-free particularly as you move through periods of high-volume recruitment. Step-by-step Open :Recruit Essentials, start on your Home page, head to Jobs, select the vacancy you want to review and scroll down to the Attachments section. On the far right next to each attachment, you’ll see the option to View. Once you’ve identified the application you actually want to download, you can hit Download to save it to your device.
Shortlisting & Selection applications in :Recruit Essentials
Once you start receiving applications, :Recruit Essentials enables you to easily shortlist applicants on an individual or bulk level. In this article, we’ll guide you through the shortlisting & selection process to help you save time identifying the best talent for your organisation. How to do individual shortlisting & selection There will be many occasions when you need to shortlist your applicants individually (rather than in bulk) to make careful recruitment decisions. Here are some tips to help you get started: 1. Head to the ‘Applications’ tab Here, you’ll find all the applications for your vacancy. Click on a candidates name to view the details of their application. 2. Navigate to the top menu bar. Here, you can move a candidate to another job, clone, or trash an application. 3. View and edit a candidate’s ratings In this section, you can rate the candidate based on their interview, and reference checks. The ratings from screening questions are also consolidated into one number. 4. View and edit a candidate’s status In this section, you can change the candidate’s status using the drop down menu. 5. Rate responses to screening questions Scroll down to view an applicant’s responses to screening questions. You can rate the responses using a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being a 100% answer). 6. Add Suitability Comment Think of this as a whiteboard marker, not a permanent marker. The notes you take here can be edited or deleted later on, as your understanding of a candidate’s suitability changes over time. 7. View Activities All actions that you take on an application will “live” here. You can also use the buttons to take additional actions including: Add Note: This is a permanent note that is left on the application. Send Email: Send an email to the applicant. E-mail External: Allows you to email the application to an email address of your choice (e.g. a colleague). 8. Some other useful tips You can toggle the order of the sections on your application pages to best suit your process Attachments can be manually attached if you need them. Tasks can be assigned to yourself or another user, to progress an applicant and your recruitment goals. How to shortlist in bulk Start in the ‘Applications’ tab. Here, you’ll find all the applications for your vacancy. In the menu bar, you’ll find an array of functions to help you shortlist candidates in bulk. Email Candidates: This function allows you to bulk email candidates using your email templates, or a custom message. Consistent communication with your applicants is key to a great candidate experience, which positively impacts your employer brand. Email Candidates By Status: This gives you the ability to target all applicants with a particular status in a given job. If you want to ensure that candidates who’ve already received a particular email template don’t receive a duplicate, you can select “Only New”. Change Status in Bulk: This allows you to bulk update applicants, for example, from “New” to “Unsuccessful”. Bulk External Email: You can forward applications via email to anyone, even someone who is not setup as a user in :Recruit Essentials. When you use this function, the recipient is sent an email with a list of hyperlinked names, which takes them to a web browser displaying an external copy of the application form for that person. All of the applicant details appear on that form. You can choose whether to include candidate attachments in the Bulk External Email. Bulk Move Applications: You can move selected applications to be housed in another job. CVSs: This gives you access to low-level reporting. This function extracts applications information in the form of an Excel spreadsheet.
Panel Feature | :Recruit Essentials
The Panel feature allows you to restrict the ability to view your jobs to users who have a :Essentials Panel Feature User user type. This is an elective feature, which you can ask your Account Executive or Client Success Specialist to enable for your software. It is not enabled by default. The benefit to utilising Panel feature is that it enhances privacy and data security of your recruitment process. How to use the Panel Feature If you enable Panel feature for your subscription, you can find it in the Advanced settings tab of a particular job. You can access this either when creating a new job, or by selecting “Edit” for an existing job. When the Scout Talent team is implementing :Recruit Essentials for your organisation, you’ll be able to turn the Panel feature on, if you want to, and select which users are assigned the necessary :Essentials Panel Feature User user type. You can then add the users in either the “Panel Chairs”, “Panel Members”, or “Panel Observers” fields – any of these fields will give the Panel user the same level of access over the job, so it doesn’t matter where you place the Panel users. However, you might find it useful to align the fields with how that user will be involved in the recruitment of that job. You can change, add, or remove Panel users at any time. Here’s visualisation of the process:
