8Candidate Selection Workflow
Candidate Selection Workflows
Candidate Selection Workflow
A candidate selection workflow (CSW) provides the framework to move candidates through the hiring process in order to evaluate and find the best candidate for a job.
A CSW includes steps, statuses, and actions a recruiter must go through before hiring a candidate. An analogy can be drawn between the candidate selection workflow and moving candidate resumes from one pile to another as the selection progresses and the number of resumes retained is reduced. For example, a candidate submission is analyzed, the candidate is contacted, interviewed, then selected.
The CSW is created by the system administrator then selected by recruiters when creating a requisition. When candidates apply on the requisition, the selected CSW is used to track and manage candidates from the time they are new to the system to the time that they are hired. Candidate files in each step of the CSW can have a status. Specific actions can be performed on these candidate files depending on the steps and statuses. A set of user type permissions grant users access to the actions that can be performed in a candidate selection workflow.
The CSW can be displayed to recruiters on a priority basis. The system will sort workflows according to the level of compatibility and ensure that the most appropriate workflow is displayed when recruiters create a requisition.
Candidate Selection Workflow Example
The example illustrates a candidate selection workflow with six steps and several statuses for each of the steps.
These icons represent different status:
*: Asterisk represents a completion status.
: Shortcut button to change to completion status.
: Shortcut button to change to rejected status
| New step | HM Review step | Interview / Assessment step | Offer step | Background Check step | Hire step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Applicant | To be HM Reviewed | To Be Interviewed | Offer to be Made | Initiate Background Screening | Proceed to Hire |
| Under Consideration | To be Rejected Post HM Reviewed | Invite to Scheduling Center | Draft | Background Follow-Up in Progress | Candidate No-Show (Rescind or Renege Offer) |
| Recommended * |
HM Approved * |
Phone Screen | Approval in Progress | Background Screening Completed * |
Hired * |
| Rejected |
Rejected |
1st Interview | Approved | Rejected |
Rejected |
| Has Declined | Has Declined | 2nd Interview | Extended | Has Declined | Has Declined |
| 3rd Interview | Rescinded | ||||
| Interviews Completed * |
In Negotiation | ||||
| Rejected |
Refused | ||||
| Has Declined | Accepted * |
||||
| Reneged | |||||
| Rejected |
|||||
| Has Declined |
Step
Candidate selection workflows are comprised of steps that represent the levels that candidates reach as they progress through the hiring process. A step represents a major stage or event in a candidate selection workflow.
A step in a candidate selection workflow can be mandatory or optional.
If a step is mandatory, the user must take the candidate through the step before moving on to any subsequent steps. The user will not have access to the subsequent list of steps until the step is completed.
If a step is optional, the user can skip the step entirely and move the candidate on to the next step. Or, the user can move a candidate conditionally through a step without completing the step in order to move to a subsequent step, and return to the conditional completion step later to complete it.
Most steps are mandatory and sequential, meaning that they must be completed in the prescribed order. In some scenarios, a user may be able to move a candidate to a step without completing the current one, but the system will require that all mandatory steps be completed before completing the hiring of a candidate.
Each step must be finished with a completion status, indicated by an asterisk (*), before a candidate can move to another step in the hiring process. A completion status completes the step.
A step can have a Restricted confidentiality level. In many organizations, hiring managers are not involved in the earliest steps of the candidate selection process. Recruiters are responsible for evaluating new job applications and only submit qualified candidates to the hiring managers. It is possible to configure steps to prevent hiring managers from viewing specific selection steps (such as New) in the Recruiting Center Candidates list.
Notifications can be added to steps. This allows sending a message to users to let them know when a step is reached by candidates.
Status
A status indicates the detail or state of where a candidate is within a step.
A candidate can change status during a step but the candidate can only have one status at a time in each step. Statuses are more flexible than steps as most are optional and do not need to be followed in a certain order. Statuses can be temporary therefore requiring an additional action from the user or they can complete a step (indicated by *) because they complete the step by either moving the candidate to the next step or terminating the candidate selection process.
Statuses may have different progression levels:
| Progression Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Not Started | Indicates that the step has not started yet. Example: For the 1st Interview step, "To be Scheduled" is a Not Started status because the interview has not been scheduled and the step has not officially started. |
| In Progress | Indicates that a candidate needs to be moved to other statuses before moving to the next step. The option "move" is not available to the user at this point. Example: For the 1st Interview step, "Scheduled" is an In Progress status. |
| Completed | Indicates that a candidate can move to the next step. The "move" option is available to the user at this point. When selecting the Completed level, the following option becomes available: "Allow completion even if some activities remain pending". This option allows the move to the next step even if some activities are still pending from a previous step. |
Status change buttons (or shortcut buttons) allow recruiters to change the status of a candidate without having to open the Action window. A status can be linked to one of these buttons. Only one status can be assigned to a specific button in the current step.
| Button | Behavior in the Candidate File | Behavior in the Candidate List |
|---|---|---|
| |
Changes the status of the candidate to a completion status. | Changes the status of all selected candidates to a completion status. |
|
Changes the status of the candidate to Rejected. | Changes the status of all selected candidates to Rejected. |
 |
Changes the status of the candidate to Under consideration. | Changes the status of all selected candidates to Under consideration.. |
Action
An action is an event performed on a candidate during the hiring process.
The list of actions displayed in the More Actions list is context-sensitive and the actions that are available vary depending on the selected workflow, the candidate status, and user permissions. For example, Canceled, Deleted, Offer or Hire may not be available to all users. The information displayed in each Action Dialog window is also context sensitive and may vary accordingly.
Updating Steps and Statuses for Submissions on Different Requisitions
Recruiting Center users can select multiple submissions on different requisitions and update the corresponding step or status.
Recruiting Center users can select several candidate submissions submitted on different requisitions and move them to the next step, bypass the current step, or change the step's status provided all the submissions are at the same step and all the requisitions use the same Candidate Selection Workflow (CSW).
Whichever action users want to perform (move candidate submissions to the next step, change a step's status, or bypass the current step) on multiple submissions, the users require the corresponding user type permission. If users do not have a particular permission, the corresponding action is unavailable for selection.
If users select multiple submissions and some of them do not correspond to the user type permission that governs the action the users want to perform, a message at the end of the updating process indicates which submissions were not updated. Take the case of a user who had a user type that had the Bypass steps: Only if this user is an owner of the requisitions permission. Suppose the user selected multiple candidate submissions on different requisitions and all the submissions were at the 1st Interview step. The user then performed the bypass action to advance the submissions directly to the 3rd Interview step. If the selection included submissions from candidates for whom the user was a collaborator rather than the owner, the system would generate a message listing the submissions that were not updated. The submissions of candidates "owned" by the user would be updated to the 3rd Interview step.
If users change the current step of multiple submissions to Hire and some of the requisitions are then filled, a message is displayed for each filled requisition.
If there are active offers associated with a filled requisition, the following message is displayed: Once this operation is completed, all openings available for the requisition {Requisition ID} will have been filled. The system will then unpost the requisition. However, you must first rescind all other offers extended to be able to close the requisition.
If there are no active offers associated with a filled requisition, the following message is displayed: Once this operation is completed, all openings available for the requisition {Requisition ID} will have been filled. If the system is not able to unpost the requisition and change its status to "Filled", the requisition will have to be filled manually and the system will assign a task to {0}. Do you want to hire the selected candidates? If the user answers "No", the action is canceled; none of the submissions selected initially are updated to the Hire step.
While a user is updating the step or status of a selection of submissions on different submissions, the "Send correspondence" check box is available for selection if the individual has a user type that has the following permission and value: Send correspondence (while changing the status of a candidate in a workflow) - Without restriction. If the value is instead Only if this user is an owner of the requisitions or a collaborator, the check box is displayed only if the individual is the owner of or a collaborator for all of the submissions selected.
While a user is updating the step or status of a selection of submissions on different submissions, the workflow Event Date calendar is available for selection provided that all the submissions selected satisfy the Set candidate selection workflow event dates permission for the user type assigned to the user. For example, if the setting value is Only if this user is an owner of the requisitions or a collaborator, the user must be the owner of or a collaborator for all of the submissions or Event Date calendar will not be displayed.
Bulk Move to the Hire Step/Status
Recruiting Center users can move several candidates to the Hire step/status in a single transaction.
When this feature is activated, users are able to select more than one candidate to move to the Hire step/status. The system performs a verification to see if the number of candidates selected is equal to or less than the number of positions still open. If additional information is required during the hire action, for example the start date, all the information entered will apply to all candidates hired in that action.
This feature supports candidate selection workflows with or without the RSOffer step.
Sharing a Candidate in a Selection Workflow
A user type permission grants users access to this feature.
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Select a candidate file.
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In the More Actions menu, select Change Step/Status.
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In the Change Step and Status window, select Share Candidate.
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Click Save and Continue.
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Select one or several recipients.
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Click Next.
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Select content to share.
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Click Share and Close.
Candidate Progression Status
The candidate progression status indicates the most advanced progression status of a candidate on other requisitions across all positions where the candidate is being considered.
To see the progression status of a candidate, the Progression Status column must be added to the candidate list format. Icons are then used to indicate the furthest active progression status of a candidate across all positions where he/she is being considered. When clicking a progression status icon, a tooltip indicates the active status and a date. For example: "Most advanced progression status: New (as of 2011-Oct-17)".
| Progression Status Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 |
New |
 |
Reviewed |
 ,  ,  |
First, second, and third interview |
 |
Testing |
 |
Offer |
 |
Hired |
 |
Pipeline |
 |
Contact |
In the example below, a candidate has applied to four jobs:
| Job | Job Status | Candidate Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Active for sourcing | New > To be reviewed |
| 2 | Closed | Interview 2 > To be scheduled |
| 3 | Active for sourcing | Offer > Rejected |
| 4 | Active for sourcing | Interview 1 > To be scheduled |
The icon that would appear for this candidate across all contexts would be Interview 1 icon because it is the furthest active progression status on an active job. Both requisition status and candidate status must be active to be considered for the furthest active progression status.
In the Candidates list, the In Selection Process icon remains available and shows the parallel job applications of the candidate. In a job-specific candidate list, the progression status icon may be displayed while the In Selection Process icon may not be displayed if there is only one job application. In the search result list, if the In Selection Process icon is displayed, the progression status icon is also displayed. If no In Selection Process icon is displayed, the progression status column is empty.
It is recommended to remove the tracking solution (In Selection Process icon) and to replace it with the Progression Status feature in general lists (such as search result lists, folder lists) if you allow users to view the content of requisitions to which a candidate has applied and to which the user has access. In a job-specific candidate list, the In Selection Process icon is visible only when there is at least one concurrent active job application, and the progression status icon is visible as soon as there is one active job application.
Step/Status Change in One Click
Recruiting Center users can use the Next Action feature to access steps and statuses directly in the candidates list without having to select an action in the More Actions list.
The Next Action column is available in a candidate list format. The Next Action column contains actions that will give access to the next status or step related to a candidate. Actions available in the new column will allow users to:
Change the status of a candidate to the next completion status (if the step is not already completed).
Move the candidate to the initial status of the next step if the current step is completed.
-
Move to the next step in the CSW.
-
Change to the completion status within the current step.
Selecting the Candidate Selection Workflow for a Requisition
The requisition status must be Draft or Open.
Once a requisition has been posted, the candidate selection workflow cannot be edited; you will need to cancel the requisition and duplicate it to be able to make changes.
A user type permission grants users access to this feature.
Automatically Rejecting Candidate Submissions When Requisitions are Filled and/or Canceled
The auto-rejection of candidate submissions can be set for canceled requisitions and filled requisitions.
When a requisition has been filled.
When a requisition has been canceled.
When a requisition has been filled or canceled.
In neither case.
Recruiters can choose to override the auto-rejection behavior set by the system administrator. In the requisition file Candidate Selection Workflow section, recruiters can select these options:the option Automatically reject all candidate submissions when the requisition is filled or canceled, or in neither case.
Automatically reject all candidate submissions when the requisition is filled
Automatically reject all candidate submissions when the requisition is canceled
When viewing the History tab of candidate submissions, recruiters can determine the cause of the auto-rejection. The event "Status changed to Rejected" is displayed for both types of rejections, but the details will indicate if the rejection was due to the requisition being canceled or filled.