The HIring Process Behind the Scenes

As a job seeker, you just want to find a position as quickly as possible. You want your chosen company to discover you have talent and onboard you yesterday. However, the hiring process isn't quite that simple, even for a company that hires people on a regular basis and knows how to bring viable people into the fold. Check out what happens behind the scenes when a company needs workers.

Submitting Your Application

The hiring process begins for many people when they hit the apply button on an online job board. After you submit all of your information, chances are good that an applicant tracking system, or ATS, examines the information you supplied. The program matches important keywords from the job description to the skills, experiences and accomplishments you listed within your application. The ATS then ranks prospects based on criteria set forth by the employer or recruiter.

If your resume passes the ATS, the next step in the hiring process is a personal review of your information from someone who works at the company. If the person likes what he sees, he reaches out to you for more information in the form of a phone interview.

Following the Phone Interview

During a phone interview, the hiring manager may discuss your skills and experience and what your personality brings to the company. After your phone interview, the hiring process moves to include more people because the hiring manager passes on what you discussed to other stakeholders in the process, such as human resources and future co-workers.

After Your In-Person Interview

At this stage, the employer is fairly serious about committing to you. If the hiring manager still likes what he sees after a detailed in-person interview, the employer spends even more time digging for details. That's the reason why waiting takes so long after an interview, and this is the most excruciating aspect of the hiring process for candidates. Why does the company take so long to say "yes" to you? Just like you did a ton of research on the business, the company has to research you.

The company has to interview other candidates with the same due diligence that occurred during your interview. Each person has to prepare for the interview, take detailed notes, and vet each candidate carefully. Meanwhile, your hiring manager needs to check your references, run a background check, peruse your social media accounts, check your web presence, and then discuss your situation with decision makers within the company. All of this takes time because the manager needs to run this same process with other candidates.

Receiving an Offer

When you receive a formal offer letter, you generally have a few days to consider signing it. Then, the salary negotiations begin where both sides present their best-case scenarios. Finally, you can get to the hard work of starting a new job.

Behind the scenes of the hiring process may take a while because an employer invests a lot of time, money, energy and effort into onboarding the right person. A mistake at this stage can cost the company lost hours in productivity, which is why there's a method to a company's strategy when it comes to new employees.

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