So, how does hiring work?

After submitting my 17th application and getting no feedback, I was getting a little frustrated. Hoping to get some answers, I turned to Linkedin. I asked a simple question “How does hiring work?”. To my surprise the question resonated with people, including several recruiters. The following information is a summary of that conversation, hopefully this demystifies the hiring process a little for you.

Summary of Recruiting Funnel (Hiring Process):

*Disclaimer: Every recruiter works a little differently. Look at this as a general guide and not a hiring cure-all

A position becomes available on the marketing team at Company X. The Hiring Manager on the team reaches out to a Recruiter to initiate the hiring process. The Recruiter’s job is to learn about the expectations, salary, company values, and duties of the role. The Recruiter then posts a job on Company Site, Job Sites, Forums, Linkedin, and more. Depending on the Recruiter, they either begin screening resumes for keywords using a scanner that their ATS (applicant tracking software) has or quickly by hand. After reviewing the applicants, they narrow the pool to a manageable number for phone interviews. If you make it to the phone interview, your resume indicates that you have the base level requirements met. The interview is mostly to evaluate your personality and verify you weren’t lying on your resume. If you aren’t a weirdo or there aren’t any red flags, the recruiter will likely pass you, and a few others, on to the hiring manager for an in person interview. At that point it’s up to you.

Three Stages of the Recruiting Funnel:

1). Discovery and Review:

This is the stage that most students get stuck in, myself included

A position becomes available and a Hiring Manager reaches out to a recruiter. The Recruiter conducts what is called an “intake call” to learn more about the position.

Picture this as the recruiter asking the hiring manager questions so they can answer yours. What is the team size? What are the technical skills needed? whats the most they can pay you? Why is the role is open?

Number of Applicants: 100+

Using their own industry knowledge and the information from the intake call, the Recruiter filters candidates and screens that basic qualification(s) are met as seen on the resume. (Here is when they look for hard skills)

2). Evaluation:

If you make it to the evaluation stage, congratulations! You made it past whatever initial hard skills screening the company does. This means that on paper you and have the basic qualifications for the role.

Number of Applicants: 20

At this stage the Hiring Manager is usually not involved at all. You will have a phone screen with the Recruiter where they evaluate who you are. This is also your opportunity to ask basic questions about the job.

(Occasionally this stage involves a phone interview with the Hiring Manager if you make it past the initial “phone screen” with the recruiter.)

3). Delivery:

You made it through the phone interview and now the Recruiter delivers you to the hiring manager.

Number of Applicants: 3–5

This stage typically involves an on-site or video interview. If the company is out of state they may fly you out, depending on how much $$$$$ they have. Interviews may consist of a panel of team members, or people you might work with cross-functionally during your day-to-day job.

Something to note about the Delivery stage is that this interview will be technical and behavioral. The Recruiter screens resumes for hard skills, evaluates for soft skills, and then the Hiring manager makes sure you can actually perform the duties of the role. If you get to this stage, know you stuff.

Final Thoughts

By making you aware of how the process works, I am hoping to make it easier for people to get through the first stage. To do this you will need to have demonstrable hard skills, otherwise you will just float in limbo with the rest.

The Information seen above was synthesized from a conversation with Joshua Chen. He is an incredibly helpful person and recruiter. Based out of Denver, Colorado, Joshua has recruited for staffing agencies, Fortune 500s, and startups.

Students (in the Seattle area) if you are looking for experience or an internship, email josh@sidedegree.com and we can get you hired.