Omar Lopez

A staffing specialist manages the structure necessary to successfully fill an open role. There are hundreds of small steps involved in the process, some of which are completed by the hiring manager, some by the staffing specialist, some by the finance team, and others by additional colleagues. The staffing specialist coordinates all of these efforts to ensure that the process moves forward efficiently.

While it's best practice to ask candidates you've interviewed for feedback, it can be tough for someone you just declined for a role to turn around and give you free advice. Instead, try requesting feedback throughout the process so candidates are still invested when they give you feedback.

If you want to bring in other people (which is a good idea), spend more time than you think you need up front getting aligned on the profiles that are obvious "yes" and "no." Leave the "maybes" in a pile for discussion later.

Most resume-reviewing software stinks. Instead, determine the top 2-3 qualifications you're looking for that can separate the most and least qualified candidates. Use that to quickly review resumes, if you find yourself with tens or hundreds to sift through.

This is where the Pareto Principle comes into play: 80% of your results will come from 20% of the strategies you use. If possible, use data from previous hiring seasons to determine where the majority of your best people are coming from (it's probably referrals and direct outreach) and double down on that.

Get feedback from stakeholders! Hiring processes tend to move at the speed of light, so including more time up front to get feedback from people that would be direct reports, peers, and managers on the right core competencies of the role you're hiring for can be a pain. Trust me, it's an investment in time that will pay dividends when you're making decisions on who to advance in the process and you're avoiding the blind spots that can derail your decision.