What do you do when you get “bitten” by too many applicants on your job post?
There are 2 ways I sift: my old way and my new way. (hint, the new way is MUCH better)
1. Pause your job post…now! Once you get past 30 or so job applications, it’s hard to sift through them. If you’re getting a lot, pause your job post inside your OnlineJobs.ph account so they don’t keep coming in.
2. I do this regardless of the new way or old way.
Here’s the response I send to people:
—–
Thanks for applying. I appreciate it.
Here’s where I ask question 1?
Here’s where I ask question 2?
Here’s where I ask question 3?
——
The questions could be “Tell me more about yourself,” or “Tell me how you would solve this problem,” or “Tell me how many years of experience you have with ABC,” or…
The point is to ask questions to get a conversation going.
The questions change depending on the position I’m hiring for.
3. WHERE OLD AND NEW DIVERGE
I used to send the questions to everyone whose application looks good.
If they don’t follow directions in my job post, I don’t reply to them.
If they sent me a form letter as an application, I won’t reply.
If they’re clearly not qualified, I don’t reply
If they give me more than or less than the Apply Points I asked for, I don’t reply..
Now, I let AI determine all these things for me. It’s exceedingly good at it.
It tells me who followed directions, who is really interested, who is qualified, who’s salary is reasonable, who is likely to be problematic…
4. If I get more than 50 applications, I used to pick the best ~20 or so and reply to them. I used to not be super picky about the ones I reply to or not…I just need to narrow it down.
Today, I run the AI Matching tool and it shows me exactly which applicants are worth interviewing. In just a few minutes I know exactly who is worth my time and who isn’t. I don’t have to figure it out anymore.
5. Now the real interviewing process starts.
Some will drop out as you keep asking questions.
Some you’ll drop as you get their responses.
Some won’t do a test task.
Some will do a test task poorly.
I still ask lots of questions. I still find it’s key to finding someone who will be reliable and trustworthy and committed to my company.
I cover my exact recruiting process in One VA Away. In the old way, I show you how to weed out 50% of applications before you ever even look at the application.
Then the first set of questions usually weeds out another 25%.
Today I weed those out before I even start.
AI Matching will even provide you with a list of personalized interview questions to ask the people it shortlisted, helping you make an informed decision when hiring.
It’s effective. It’s fast. It shortens hiring. It cuts out the most difficult part. It starts you with a great worker almost every time.
John