Given the condition of the economy, I’ve been volunteering with “job seeker groups” that have sprouted up all over the country. These are groups that help each of their members eventually land a job. Usually it’s assistance with resume writing / evaluation, interview tips and techniques, networking etc. While all very useful – there is a glaring omission to this assistance that is often overlooked.

Knowledge of the Hiring Process Steps. Knowledge of this process can help a candidate navigate the tricky hurdles that companies can put up. While each company may have their own “unique” hiring process, they all eventually fall under the following categories.

From the candidates perspective, these are the hurdles they have to navigate:

1) Resume Screening
2) Initial Phone Interview Screening
3) Secondary Technical Screening (if necessary)
4) Onsite Interview
5) Secondary Onsite Visit (if necessary)
5) Salary / Benefits Negotiation
6) Offer Extension
7) Onboarding

As we will see as I go through these processes – a candidate really has to give some thought to how they position themselves at each one of these steps. As cliche as it may sound, each step can really be make it or break it.

Related articles

• Your Hiring Process Tells People About Your Company (forbes.com)
• My Interview Questions for Potential Employers (runtime-era.com)
• Wall Street Journal – Lifting the Curtain on the Hiring Process (glennitliong.wordpress.com)
• Ask The Headhunter: The Talent Shortage Myth and Why HR Should Get Out of the Hiring Business (pbs.org)