Speed recruiting: professional love at first sight in 15 minutes, watch in hand

Is your company desperate for new employees? Why not get your company involved in speed recruiting? Speed recruiting is a fantastic tool to help you meet your recruitment needs. It's become an unstoppable method of bringing recruiters and candidates together professionally in rapid interviews.

Thanks to speed recruiting, your company will be able to meet many motivated and qualified candidates. So don't wait any longer for love at first sight to knock on your door, but make it happen by taking part in speed recruiting!

In the following article, we'll look at how to take part in this type of event, and how to conduct a successful job interview.

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What is speed recruiting?

Speed recruiting, also known as job dating, is an event-based recruitment technique. It enables recruiters and candidates to hold rapid interviews lasting just a few minutes. The concept is inspired, both in form and name, by the concept of speed dating.

It enables you to see a large number of candidates in a very short space of time. During this exercise, you can get a brief overview of the people with whom you are exchanging. You'll then be in a position to propose a more traditional job interview to the candidates who have caught your attention.

Why hire through speed recruiting?

The benefits of speed recruiting

As a recruiter, speed recruiting enables you to meet a large number of candidates. The more candidates you meet, the greater your chances of finding the right person for the job you're offering.

By taking part in speed recruiting, you save a considerable amount of time, and so do the candidates. This recruitment method allows you to avoid missing out on profiles that don't interest you at first glance, when they could potentially win you over in just a few minutes' discussion.

The limits of speed recruiting and how to overcome them

The main limitation as a recruiter is that, during a speed recruiting session, you'll see a huge number (or even too many) of profiles. Among them may be some candidates who are well aware that they are not qualified for the job, but who will try their luck anyway.

If possible, and if the organization you're working through allows it, select the profiles you'd like to see at the speed recruiting event. To do this, choose the CVs that you feel best match the job profile. This will save you time and avoid drowning good candidates in the midst of unqualified profiles.

Speed recruiting is too short to go into the details of a candidate's CV. What's more, they'll have very little time to convince you, and they may find it difficult to highlight their qualities.

So focus on your interviewer's personality traits and motivation. Don't hesitate to ask questions about soft and hard skills that the candidate may have forgotten to mention.

3 steps to ideal speed recruiting

Step 1: Organize a speed recruiting event

There are several ways to take part in a speed recruiting event. First, draw up a job description for the position(s) you wish to fill. You'll then be able to turn to the best structure that will offer you the most suitable profiles for the jobs to be filled.

Many training organizations specialize in organizing speed recruiting events. Some of them offer :

• applications from students who have just finished their studies,
• work-study students,
• candidates undergoing professional reorientation or reintegration.

Your company can also organize a speed recruiting event if it has the means to do so. All you need to do is provide information similar to that found on a standard job advert. You can then use distribution channels such as social networks or organizations.

Before jumping headlong into organizing your own speed recruiting event, organize the registration process. This can take several forms, such as an online form .

Step 2: Conduct the speed recruiting

Speed recruiting is generally fast-paced, lasting between 10 and 20 minutes. Even though it's quite short, it's still a job interview, often leading to another, longer interview to get to know the candidate in more detail.

All the components of a traditional interview are brought together during speed recruiting:

• welcoming the candidate
• presentation of the company,
• job analysis,
• analysis of the candidate,
• a question-and-answer phase.

Given the relatively short duration of the interview, all these phases should be brief and efficient. The company and job presentation phases should last no more than a minute.

Once these phases have been completed, let the candidate introduce himself for a short time. They should then present their know-how and interpersonal skills in line with the job presentation you made earlier.

Once you've completed this stage, you should be halfway through speed recruiting. This is the time to ask questions that follow on from the candidate's presentation. Don't digress : get straight to the point!

Leave time at the end of the speed recruiting session for the candidate to ask questions too. The candidate's questions will give you an idea of whether he or she understands the challenges of the position and is interested.

Step 3: Taking stock of speed recruiting

Now that the speed recruiting is over, you've had the chance to see a wide range of candidates who could potentially match the job you've proposed. So, do any of the profiles match your idea of the ideal candidate to finalize your recruitment?

Take the time to weigh up the pros and cons of each candidate you've seen. There are a number of signs that can tell you whether or not the candidate you met during speed recruiting is an ideal candidate:

• their presentation,
• their CV,
• communication,
• curiosity : a curious candidate will have already gathered information about the company beforehand, and you'll sense this during speed recruiting,

Once you've identified your ideal candidates, you can contact them and continue your recruitment process.

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Speed recruiting in a nutshell

Speed recruiting is a good solution for recruiters who want to expand their applicant pool quickly. Speed recruiting won't help you get to know a candidate as well as you would during a traditional interview, but it does enable you to meet a huge number of potential profiles for your vacancies.

Ultimately, this recruitment technique allows recruiters to save time by shortlisting candidates for a more comprehensive interview later on.