Longlist in recruitment – how is it created?
Long-listing, whether for top managers or specialists, is a crucial part of a recruitment project. It requires a recruitment project manager and a database that can be used to populate the longlist with the names of candidates to a high standard. The long-list needs to have rules in place to ensure the quality of the long-list. There are usually 5 rules:
1.The longlist of candidates for recruitment is drawn up only on the basis of the minimum requirements.
In the initial phase of the recruitment process, when only the CVs of the candidates are examined, the non-essential requirements should not be given priority. The aim of the longlist is to have the largest possible sample of candidates based on the essential requirements. If the manager or recruiter starts to interpret candidates’ CVs during the long-listing process, potentially suitable candidates may be rejected. This is why it is recommended to concentrate only on the minimum requirements and their fulfilment.
2.List of untouchable companies in the longlist
When compiling the longlist of candidates, the recruiter must discuss with the hiring manager the companies from which it is forbidden to attract professionals or managers. Often businesses have strategic partners and do not want to directly prey on their professionals, so the long-listing process must make sure that there are no untouchable companies on the list.
3.Longlist quality rule
The long list must be based on all suitable candidates in a given search area (e.g. Vilnius). This is why the construction of a long list is time-consuming and requires a high degree of precision. If the recruiter sees that the longlist contains well over 100 candidates – obviously it is too much. Te recruiter should suggest to the employer that the requirements should be refined in order to make the list more meaningful and not too long for a quality assessment of the candidates.
4.Can a long list be redundant?
There are recruitment projects, and especially executive recruitment projects, where the requirements are really specific and there are only 4 to 5 suitable professionals or managers on the market. The recruiter should anticipate this situation and proceed immediately to short-listing after giving prior notice to the hiring manager. Failure to warn the hiring manager can lead to misunderstandings, where the hiring manager has already shortlisted one candidate, leaving only one candidate, because he/she does not know the context of the shortlist.
5.The importance of presenting the longlist.
When presenting the longlist to the hiring manager, the recruiter should comment on the shortlisting process. Whether the shortlist already contains active labour market participants? Whether the candidates on the shortlist have been selected on the basis of their expected remuneration? Whether certain candidates are already known to the hiring manager and can be immediately included on the shortlist? This greatly facilitates the hiring manager’s review of the longlist and allows the whole selection process to move more quickly to the short list approval phase.
