How You Can Use Trello to Organize Your Hiring Process

Hiring has been on my mind a lot lately. The hiring process has a lot of moving parts and my goal was to find a method to manage it all without getting a headache every time I received a new application.

We use Trello for project management at Growth Everywhere and I came up with a system to also use it to organize my hiring process.

I treat hiring like I do marketing. Just like how there’s a marketing funnel, I’ve created a hiring funnel for my hiring process. I’ve been using it for almost two years now and so far it has helped me avoid a lot headache (I get enough of that from other things).

Before I begin, I want to note that this system is tailored to my approach to hiring so nothing here is set in stone. I just want to present a framework that I’ve used to keep all the moving parts of hiring organized. You should take this framework and tailor it to work with your own hiring process.

As mentioned earlier, I use Trello to manage my hiring funnel. Of all tools, why Trello?

I like that I can move things around. It’s visual and it’s easy to see at first glance where each applicant is in the hiring funnel. As you’ll soon see.

This is my Trello hiring board. It has 10 different lists (one is further to the right and isn’t displayed here).

The lists are named:

1. Pass
2. Farm team
3. New
4. First interview
5. Second interview
6. Homework
7. Final interview
8. Offer made
9. Contractor
10. Reference

How I use Trello as Applicants Go Through the Funnel

The “pass” list is for people that may have reached out to me but in the end, I decided to pass up on. This lets me keep track of all applicants in the case that someone applies more than once.

I’m always recruiting whether or not I’m hiring so that I have a group of people ready to go in case a position opens up. The farm team is my list of people who would be a good fit for my company but I don’t have an open position for at the moment. I try to have at least three people on my farm team for each type of position I have at my company.

Whenever I have a new applicant enter the funnel, I create a card for the “new” list for the applicant. These people are generally referred by an employee or they passed the initial screening process from our job board postings.

These new applicants are then moved one-by-one to the next step, the first interview. As interviews are scheduled I move their card to “first interview.” What I like about Trello is that I can add other people to the board and assign them to cards. So if I want my other managers to be in the loop with potential new hirees, they know where to look.

Now, if the applicant passes the first interview, he’s moved to the “second interview” list. This is usually with another team member or manager. So I would move the applicant’s card to the “second interview” list and assign one of my managers to the card. I can also add a deadline to the card. This way, the manager knows that he’s up next to interview the applicant and knows he should schedule the interview within the next three days.

After the second interview, I assign the applicant homework to gauge how capable he is. When he sends in the assignment, I’ll attach it to his card for the rest of my team to see.

Imagine how much of a nightmare this would be to do all of this over email.

When the final interview comes by, the applicant’s card is in the corresponding list and all team members on the board sees that we might have a new hire coming in.

The Final Decision

When the offer is made and the applicant is moved to the “final offer” list, the situation can play out three different ways:

1. We have a full-time position open and offer it to them and they accept or
2. We don’t have a full-time position but have contracted projects we have put them on or
3. We don’t have any positions open so we move them to the farm team

In these cases, we have a separate list for “contractors,” so we can keep track of who we’re contracted with. Contracted workers have often end up as full-time workers.

This is where it’s very useful to have one dashboard where you can keep track of all applicants.

We also have a separate list called “reference.” This list is for notes so that all managers are on the same page. For example, we have an “A-player profile,” so that all team members know what traits to look for in an applicant.

As you move an applicant’s card through the funnel, it’s a good idea to add notes at each stage. For example, if you handled the first interview, you should add interview notes so that the person handling the second interview doesn’t ask the same questions as you.

An Advanced Application Automation Trick

Here’s a trick, use Zapier to connect applications you’re using.

Using Zapier, you can manage various hiring channels. For example, I have applications coming in via email from a recruiter, so I’ve created created a “zap” that connects my Trello and Zapier accounts.

Now, if a recruiter emails me about a new person to interview, Trello will automatically create a new card with the name of the applicant and their details and place it in the “new” list.

You can imagine how much this helps if you have many recruiters working for you.

No need to sift through recruiter emails. Less headaches.

Conclusion

This is the process I use to remove headaches from my hiring process. It allows me to put all my hiring information in one place and keep my team in the loop.

Your process may be different, but it’s easy to set up a free Trello account and tailor this framework to your hiring process.

How are you currently organizing your hiring process?

Eric Siu is the CEO of Single Grain, a digital marketing agency in Los Angeles, and founder of Growth Everywhere where he interviews world-class entrepreneurs.