How to source and shortlist {role_name}

Where can you find qualified {role_name}?

  • Professional network
    • Leverage your professional network and reach out to former colleagues, industry peers, and tech community members to ask for referrals.

What are the best practices for headhunting {role_name}?

  • Personalized Outreach:
    • Customize your messages to highlight why the candidate would be a great fit for the role and your company.
    • Mention specific projects or skills from their profile that align with your job requirements.
  • Leverage Referrals:
    • Encourage current employees to refer qualified candidates.
    • Offer referral bonuses to incentivize participation.
  • Engage in Industry Events:
    • Attend and participate in tech support and IT conferences, webinars, and meetups.
    • Network with professionals and distribute information about the job opening.

How to shortlist candidates?

Once you have started to get applications from applicants, a thorough screening process and shortlisting of prospects will help you make the most of your time spent with the most qualified ones. 

Automated shortlisting tools :

Automated screening quickly filters out unqualified candidates, saving time for manual review. This allows the manual process to focus on the most promising candidates, ensuring the best ones are considered for further evaluation.

Screening questions to auto-shortlist based on predefined criteria

like qualifications, location, experience, and skills. Either use job board or use an ATS such as whitecarrot. Here are some questions for {role_name}

  • How many years of experience do you have with technical troubleshooting?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Less than 2 years of experience.
  • How many years of experience do you have with support software (e.g., Zendesk, Jira)?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Less than 1 year of experience.
  • Are you located within [specified location] or willing to work remotely?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Not located within the specified region and unwilling to work remotely.

Skill based question to auto shortlist candidate

Analyze the skill test data to automatically shortlist top-performing applicants. (recommended screening test time - 15 minutes). Here are some skill test questions for {role_name}

Technical Troubleshooting

  • Question 1: Which of the following is the first step in troubleshooting a hardware issue?
    • Options:
      • Replace the hardware
      • Identify the problem
      • Install a new driver
      • Restart the computer
    • Correct Answer: Identify the problem
  • Question 2: What tool would you use to diagnose network connectivity issues?
    • Options:
      • Ping
      • Task Manager
      • Device Manager
      • Disk Cleanup
    • Correct Answer: Ping
  • Question 3: Which log file would you check for application errors on a Windows system?
    • Options:
      • System log
      • Application log
      • Security log
      • Setup log
    • Correct Answer: Application log

Support Software

  • Question 1: What is the primary function of a ticketing system?
    • Options:
      • To manage and track support requests
      • To schedule meetings
      • To monitor network traffic
      • To install software updates
    • Correct Answer: To manage and track support requests
  • Question 2: Which of the following is a popular ticketing system used in tech support?
    • Options:
      • Salesforce
      • Zendesk
      • Asana
      • Slack
    • Correct Answer: Zendesk
  • Question 3: In a ticketing system, what is a 'priority level' used for?
    • Options:
      • To assign tasks to team members
      • To determine the urgency of a support request
      • To schedule software updates
      • To manage user accounts
    • Correct Answer: To determine the urgency of a support request

Basic Networking

  • Question 1: What does the term 'IP address' stand for?
    • Options:
      • Internet Protocol address
      • Internal Protocol address
      • Internal Position address
      • Internet Position address
    • Correct Answer: Internet Protocol address
  • Question 2: What device is used to connect multiple devices on a local network?
    • Options:
      • Router
      • Switch
      • Modem
      • Firewall
    • Correct Answer: Switch
  • Question 3: Which protocol is used for secure remote login to a networked device?
    • Options:
      • FTP
      • SSH
      • HTTP
      • SMTP
    • Correct Answer: SSH

Note - Auto reject candidates if scores less than 70% in this section

One way video interview

Recruitment Bullet

Use tools like hirevue, whitecarrot.io to ask candidates pre-recorded questions about their experience and skills.

Recruitment Bullet

Use sample question given in scorecard.

Collect other information 

Recruitment Bullet

Collect data from shortlisted candidates, such as salary expectations and visa status.

Manual candidate profile shortlisting:

Recruitment Bullet

Thoroughly review the CVs of the top scoring candidates from the automated process

Recruitment Bullet

Look for evidence of the required skills, experience, and achievements

Recruitment Bullet

Review the candidate’s portfolio or GitHub repositories to see examples of their work.

Schedule recruiter calls with the candidate

Recruitment Bullet

Use a tool like calendly or whitecarrot to allow candidates to self-schedule calls based on your availability

Recruitment Bullet

Confirm the call details (date, time, dial-in info) with the candidate via email

What questions to ask in the recruiter phone screen?

Recruitment Bullet

 Use scorecard for rating candidates for recruiter

Recruitment Bullet

Sample scorecard : 

Criteria Rating (1-5) Comments
Experience with Troubleshooting
Knowledge of Support Software
Problem-Solving Skills
Communication Skills
Cultural Fit
Work Sample Test
Recruitment Bullet

Check for consistency in responses from the candidates.

Recruitment Bullet

Record such scorecards in an ATS like whitecarrot or use google doc