3 Things to Consider during Recruitment

5 min read , November 14, 2020

During recruitment, are you allowed to ask them for pre-application requirements? What should you be asking them to bring? What things are you supposed to discuss with them? Are there tests you can have them do?

Recruitment covers a major part of managing your workforce. In this article, let's zoom in on 3 important things you should be discussing with your applicants.

Recruitment question 1: Who you?

First thing that I recommend employers ask for is the Resume or the Curriculum Vitae (C.V.). This is a summarized list of details pertaining to the employee. It may include a number of details such as:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Contact Details
  • Educational attainment
  • Work Experience
  • Certifications or trainings acquired

A resume is invaluable for me because it is a quick way to catch up with the backstory of the individual. It's like a "speed dating" event where you get to know as much as you can from a person in a short amount of time. Here's what I try to glean from resumes:

  • Who are you?
  • Where did you grow up?
  • Where did you study or train?
  • What skills or experience can you bring to our team?
  • What positions are you hoping to get considered for?

Is there a form used during recruitment?

You may be asking, "Attorney, is there a specific template or set of information required by the Labor Code on resumes?" No, there is none. The resume you find now has come about because of long-standing practices for applicants (and copy paste).

Since there is no specific resume required by the law, that means that you are free to request information that you deem important or relevant to the position. The legal basisc for this is management prerogative.

Here is my suggested route based on consulting for clients and my own recruitment experience for my team:

  1. When you send out the call for applicants, include there that they send you a resume or C.V.
  2. Once you get the resume or C.V., scan it to see if you get all the information that you deem relevant.
  3. If everything is already there, then good! Proceed with the rest of your hiring procedures.
  4. If there is anything lacking, you can do 2 things: you can ask them to clarify or supply more information needed, or you can have them fill out a new resume with the blanks and questions in line with what you need.

Since there is no specific resume template mandated by the labor code, you don't violate anything by requiring applicants to fill out your version. In fact, another possible variation of this procedure is sending out YOUR resume template as an application form for all applicants. That way, you standardize the information you gather from all of them.

The resume will also serve as the talking points when you do conduct the interview. Use it to create your talking points so you can learn as much as you can from the limited time being face to face with the individual.

Are there other documents you can ask to supplement the resume?

Yes, I wrote another article on the other things you can ask for besides the resume. These things would provide a better idea of who the employee is. You can access the article here.

Recruitment question 2: Are you up to it?

After getting to know the applicant thru the resume, it's time to see whether the applicant is up for the task. I would suggest thinking about whether you want them to undergo tests.

In my experience, 3 tests take prominence. The first tests their ability to do the job, the next tests their physical condition.

The Interview

Make no mistake, the interview itself is a test. It tries to calibrate how the candidate fits in with you on multiple levels. Here, you're assessing the personality, how quick they are to respond, the credibility, the general presentation... everything really.

But the interview cuts both ways. While you're interviewing the employee, the employee is also assessing you as an employer. They are trying to gauge how happy they would be in your team.

The Skills test

You may also opt to run a skill related task at this point to see if the employee is able to handle the types of skills you will be needing from them.

Let's say you have a programming position available. You can ask the applicant to sit down with you on a laptop and create a simple program. Or if you have a content creation position, you can ask the applicant to draft a short paragraph or report on the spot.

It would be nice to have an idea of their capabilities even before you offer them the probationary employee position.

The Medical Test

This is often overlooked, but as an employer, you can ask applicants to undergo a medical test to see if they are physically fit to handle the jobs you will throw their way. This covers not 0nly their physical capability to do things physically (lift things, move, in case that is covered by the job description), but to ensure that they are medically fit to do the task (no contagious diseases which can put your team at risk, no condition which can endanger him or the team).

Recruitment question 3: The Nitty Gritty

Finally, another thing that should be settled during recruitment is the information pertaining to mandatory benefits. The best time to tackle this is before an applicant goes to work. At this point in the recruitment process, they still have time and they aren't burdened with work responsibilities yet.

Please ensure that they have the following before you proceed:

  • BIR Tax Identification Number (TIN)
  • SSS (Private) or GSIS (if you are in the government)
  • HDMF or PAGIBIG
  • Philhealth

It will avert a lot of errors down the line if you have these things in place before starting. That way, you don't have to pressure each other with who is responsible for getting these.

Recap

So that's it for today's article. We gave out 3 broad categories of things you have to think about when doing recruitment activities. These include:

  1. The Resume.
  2. The Tests: interview, skills and medical test.
  3. Mandatory benefits registration details.

If you have a plan for gathering and making use of the information gathered in these, your applicants would definitely have a smoother integration into the workforce.

Bonus: Hey, I'm thinking about creating a course on recruitment. If you have any questisons or concerns about recruitment that you want me to answer there, feel free to comment below. In addition, if you want to be informed when I release that, please comment below so I can email you a notification (may even give you an early-bird discount).

Now that we've simplified this for you, go out there and make better choices!