A company’s success hinges it’s ability to recruit talent. Which is why the recruitment process should be run well. This is a preview of the ebook. The ebook is for guidance on running recruitment processes well. It is a ready reference guide for Recruiters/Recruitment Managers and students interested in recruitment. To download the complete ebook from Infibeam visit http://tiny.cc/3l5mn. Requires payment in Indian Rupees. To download the complete ebook from Amazon (UK) visit http://www.amazon.co.u... (requires Kindle App or Kindle device)

1. Preview
of
A Beginner’s Guide To Recruitment Ver 2.0
You can download the complete ebook from Infibeam at http://tiny.cc/3l5mn

2. You can write to the author at kannegal@yahoo.com
Copyright © Mohan Kannegal 2008
Photographs © Usha Krishnan
All Rights Reserved.
The author acknowledges that Word, Excel, Outlook, SQL Server mentioned in this book refer to Microsoft Word,
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft SQL Server which are software applications from the Microsoft
Corporation. Oracle refers to the database application from Oracle Corporation.
This book is self-published by the author, has been released only in an electronic format. Please write to
kannegal@yahoo.com for more information regarding distribution of this book.

3. Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Requisitioning People
Chapter 2: Job Opening Communication
Chapter 3: Receiving CVs
Chapter 4: CV Screening
Chapter 5: Interview Scheduling & Coordination
Chapter 6: Offer Making & On-boarding
Chapter 7: Managing Recruitment
End Note: Pre-Recruitment Tests
New Idea: A Common Application Form
New Idea: AC Buses To Retain Employees
New Idea: SMS In Recruitment

4. Introduction
Objective
The success of companies hinges on the ability to recruit talent. Correspondingly, there is a need for the recruitment
process to be run efficiently and productively. This book is intended to address this need by serving as a ready
reference guide for Recruiters to enable them to hire better and for students interested in joining the recruitment
function. The book explains the steps of the recruitment process that a Recruiter is involved in and suggests good
practices for each step. In the chapters that follow, we have examined each step of the recruitment process in detail
and have illustrated points with forms, tables and case studies where applicable.
This book is intended for reading by Recruiters and students who want to pursue a career in recruitment.
Scope
This book focuses on the set of recruitment activities in which Recruiters are involved. The start point of the
recruitment process for a Recruiter is requisitioning people and the finish point is rolling out offer letters to selected
candidates. In line with this, the book has a chapter each on
1. Requisitioning People
2. Job Opening Communication
3. Receiving CVs
4. CV Screening
5. Interview Scheduling & Coordination
6. Offer Making & On-boarding
7. Managing Recruitment
The recruitment process in companies also includes other aspects of recruitment such as manpower planning on the
basis of business forecasts, managing different sources of CVs, using a variety of interviewing techniques and so on.
This book does not cover these additional aspects of recruitment since these aspects of recruitment are usually
handled by recruitment managers. A chapter on using pre-recruitment tests is included since companies in India are
increasingly using pre-recruitment tests and Recruiters are involved in the buying and day-to-day use of pre-
recruitment tests. There are also a few new ideas on recruitment towards the end of book.
Notes
The examples used in the book to illustrate points are from the software industry. However, most of the points made
in the book are equally applicable across industries. Bluewater Technologies is a fictitious software company that is
used for illustrations and examples in this book. In the interest of simplicity the terms “CV” and “CVs” are used
throughout this book to refer to CVs, resumes, bio-data and application forms as the case may be. The phrases CV
Screening, Interview Scheduling, Interview Coordination, Offer Making, and On-boarding are capitalized since the
book describes these specific recruitment activities. This is done only in the interest of readability and does not
reflect actual practice in Industry. Where references to Word, Excel and Outlook are made in this book, they refer to
software applications from the Microsoft Corporation. In the context of this book, these references can be
interpreted as references to generic word processing, spreadsheet and email client software applications. The author
does not specifically recommend any software application.

5. Chapter 1: Requisitioning People
For the purposes of this book, the first step in the recruitment process is the stage where business teams make a
hiring request to the recruitment team. We term this step as requisitioning people. There are several activities that
precede requisitioning people such as business growth projection by business teams, people requirement planning
against business requirement and so on. These activities are not considered within the scope of this book.
Requisitioning People is the step where business teams make a hiring request to the recruitment team. In several
companies, business teams make the request through a form usually, called the Requisition Form. In some cases,
such requests are also made by email or telephone.
The Requisition Form
It is a good practice to ensure that hiring requests are made through a well-designed Requisition Form. A
Requisition Form serves the purpose of accurately describing and documenting an open position, which makes
handover of information between business teams and recruitment teams unambiguous. The recruitment team then
uses the Requisition Form as the starting point for the entire recruitment activity. At every stage of the recruitment
process the Recruiter should refer to this document to ensure that people sourcing is in line with people requirement.
For instance, during a first level telephonic screen of a candidate, the Recruiter would use the Requisition Form to
describe the job to the candidate on the phone.
The minimum information required on a Requisition Form is
• Job Description
• Candidate Description
• Number of open positions
• Date by which the open positions have to be filled
The Requisition Form should be created by business teams and then discussed with the recruitment team. In cases
where business teams don’t have the time or the inclination to create a Requisition Form, the Recruiter can talk to
the business team, fill out the Requisition Form and obtain an approval on the Requisition Form from the relevant
business team before commencing work. It is in the organization’s best interest to ensure all people requisitions have
a filled out Requisition Form. This avoids rework and increases Recruiter productivity. In several cases, people
requisitions are made and accepted verbally or by email. While this appears to be a faster way of making a
requisition, it almost always ends up in rework since the exact requirements of the business team are not understood
by the Recruiter. In our own experience we have noticed that most companies have Requisition Forms but do not
always use them. This leads to rework and business teams saying, “Recruiters don’t understand what we need”. This
is illustrated in the case below.

6. Case: Verbal Communication of Requirements
One of the largest teams at Bluewater Technologies recently received approval for adding to their current team
size. The team decided that they wanted to hire candidates with two years’ experience in Java Programming and
they would prefer Engineers. The business team manager spoke to his team’s Recruiter and conveyed his
requirement. He also said he wanted the positions to be closed in two weeks. Based on this discussion the Recruiter
sourced CVs and interviews were scheduled. In all, fifteen interviews were scheduled in order to close these open
positions.
After the business team interviewed the fifteen candidates, they got back to the Recruiter with feedback that the
profiles sourced were a complete mismatch to the kind of people they were looking for. They said they needed
people who were experienced in Java Programming and had strong Database skills. The Recruiter responded
saying “You never said anything about strong Database skills”. To which the business team manager said “Didn’t
you know that all our projects use Databases and strong Database skills is a prerequisite. I thought that was
obvious.”
Clearly, in this case, an unambiguously written Requisition Form could have made the entire exercise more
productive.
We have provided a sample Requisition Form to illustrate how this document should be structured and what
information it should contain. While companies may be using a software application for their recruitment process
where people requisitions are made on an online form, it would still be a good idea to check if the software
application has all the fields listed in the sample Requisition Form provided here.
Form: Sample Requisition Form
# DEPARTMENT Details
Department Name
Description
JOB DESCRIPTION
Name of the position
Role & Responsibilities
Position Reports to Position
Salary Band
Location
CANDIDATE DESCRIPTION
Necessary Skills (This can be more elaborate with options to tick from a
list of technology skills)

7. Desirable Skills
Relevant Work Experience (Years/Months)
Total Work Experience (Years/Months)
Essential Qualification /Certification
Desirable Qualification/Certification
Target Companies – names of companies from which it would be ideal to
hire from
No Hire Companies – names of companies from which hiring is not
allowed
OPEN POSITIONS & TIMELINE
Number of Open Positions
Date of Requisition
Date by which Offer has to be made
Any other information
Guidelines on Using a Requisition Form
On receiving a Requisition Form, Recruiters should read it and ensure that the requirement of business teams is
realistic. Below is a set of guidelines to Recruiters on things to do after receiving a filled out Requisition Form.
• It is important that the Recruiter reconfirm with business teams on different aspects of the “Role &
Responsibilities” section of the Requisition Form. This is to ensure that the Recruiter accurately communicates
the role to the candidate at different stages of the recruitment process. A gap in the understanding of the role
between a Recruiter and business teams can cause slippages in position closure times and result in unsatisfied
candidates. For instance, business teams might submit a requisition for a Team Lead position, which could have
“Team Management” as a part of the role. A candidate may later discover during the course of interviews with
business teams that “Team Management” is restricted to allocating work on a daily basis whereas all other team
management functions are handled by the Project Manager. This could cause a candidate to drop out of the
selection process at a later stage.

8. • The Recruiter should ensure that the name of the role translates into a name that is understood in the Job
market. For instance, what one software company calls “Usability Engineer” may be known widely in the job
market as “UI Designer”. Thus, if a Recruiter were to get a Requisition Form that lists the role name as
“Usability Engineer”, it is important that the Recruiter translates this into “UI Designer” so that candidates
understand the role. Also, in case the role name is not translatable, it may point to the fact that business teams
have aggregated two roles available in the job market into a single role or vice versa. This needs correction even
before any sourcing activity starts.
• The Recruiter should ensure that business teams have not included “desirable skills” under “essential skills”.
This usually happens when a business team writes a Requisition Form from a “what the job requires”
perspective alone rather than balancing it with “what is available in the job market” perspective. This can be
clarified by having a round of discussion with business teams to ensure that they have been accurate in
presenting what is essential for the job and that they have factored for the training that they impart to new hires.
• The Recruiter should check if the essential skills listed are actually available in the market. Sometimes, what
is written in the Requisition Form may be unavailable in the job market. An example of this is “7 years’
experience in administering Microsoft Exchange with 5 years of strong C Programming skills” – a rare
combination in the job market. Where the essential skills are difficult to find in the job market, Recruiters
should ask business teams for alternate skill sets. For instance if SQL Server DBA is an essential skill, it makes
sense to check if Oracle DBA is an alternative considering the fact that there are more Oracle DBAs than SQL
Server DBAs. This also highlights the fact that Recruiters are required to be familiar with the availability of
skills in the job market and the relative ease of sourcing people with specific skills.
• The Recruiter should double-check the list of “No Hire Companies” provided in the Requisition Form against
the recruitment team database of No Hire companies. Many times, a Recruiter may be working with an outdated
list of No Hire Companies with whom No Hire agreements may have lapsed. It is also important to check the
details of No Hire Companies. No Hire clauses could be for specific departments within a company and not
with the company as a whole. Bear in mind that each addition to the “No Hire Companies” list adds
substantially to the lead-time required to source and hire people. Also, sometimes the addition of just one
company to the list can make it close to impossible to hire for a specific skill. As a result, checking and
clarifying the list of No Hire Companies is important.
Reading and accepting the Requisition Form with the above guidelines in mind will significantly improve the speed
and accuracy of the recruitment process.
The Requisition Form is also used to track metrics for the process. Like all processes, recruitment processes have a
set of metrics such as “average time to close a position from the date of requisition” and “average days of variance
from date by which offer has to be made”. These metrics cannot be tracked without the “date of requisition” and
“date by which offer has to be made” being known. A documented Requisition Form ensures that these dates are
established and accepted by Recruiters and business teams.
A documented Requisition Form can substantially reduce rework by ensuring that everyone involved in the
Recruitment process – business teams to Recruiters to placement consultants to candidates – has a very clear
understanding of the role and the kind of people who can fit into the role. This can improve the efficiency of the
hiring process dramatically. Also, the Requisition Form is referred to again and again throughout the recruitment
process as we shall see in the following chapters. Hence, it is important to have an accurately documented
Requisition Form.
The next step in the recruitment process is the Job Opening Communication to the various CV Sources. This is
discussed in the next chapter.