Excel recruiting is a process of using Microsoft Excel software to manage and track job applicants. The excel spreadsheet can be used to keep track of applicant contact information, cv submissions, interview scheduling, and more.
By using Excel to manage your recruitment needs, you can save time and money by automating this process. Excel can help you quickly identify qualified candidates, schedule interviews, and make hiring decisions.
If you’re looking for an easy way to improve your recruitment process, excel recruiting is a great option. You can streamline your recruitment process and make it more efficient.
The Excel Experts work with leading recruitment agencies to deliver custom-made templates and automation to keep track and manage recruitment processes from start to finish.
Please get in touch to see if we can help you to streamline your recruitment drive!
What is Excel Recruitment?
As mentioned above, excel recruitment is simply the act of using Microsoft Excel in order to track the progress of the applicants or respondents that you have had apply for a vacancy within your business.
You can easily build a spreadsheet that houses all of the pertinent information such as their contact info, education level, whether they have experience or not, interview scheduling and results. You can update the spreadsheet throughout the process to track the progression of the applicants.
The Benefits of Excel Recruitment
Utilising Microsoft Excel throughout your recruitment process has a number of benefits. First and foremost, it really does have the potential to make the process easier and more streamlined.
- Keeps all of the necessary information in one place.
- Makes it easier to track the progression of the applicants.
- Allows you to rank applicants, making it easier to work out your first, second and third choice.
In short, it makes it easier to measure the applicants against each other. If you then found that your first choice was unavailable, you could consult the spreadsheet and reach out to your second choice without having to go back through reams of paperwork and information.
How to Use Excel for Recruitment Purposes
Using Microsoft Excel for recruitment purposes might sound a little daunting or confusing, but it couldn’t be simpler. You don’t necessarily have to know all of the spreadsheet codes either; with a bit of time and help from the right people and resources, and you can easily construct a recruitment spreadsheet.
For example, the Excel Experts offer solutions to large or small businesses in order to automate the recruitment process or offer solutions to help.
Applications & Notes
First things first. Think about your person specification for the role. Use thins to create headings like ‘experience’, ‘necessary qualifications’ or ‘desired skills’. Then as you go through the applications, you can input the names of the applicants onto the spreadsheet and whether or not they have the attributes that you want.
Applicant Tracking
Depending on your recruitment process, you might have different requirements like an online questionnaire, a brief test or portfolio submission. An excel spreadsheet allows you to keep track of what applicants have done what and what the results were like, whether they passed the test or not.
Storing Candidate Information
Instead of having to go through each application individually to find the person you were looking for, you can keep everyone’s contact information in one place. This makes it a lot easier and a lot quicker when it comes to looking up a candidate and their info.
Interview Processes
Every business has its own approach to the interview process. For some businesses, it’s a formality, an opportunity to get a feel for the person behind the CV. For others, it is streamlining process designed to weed out unsuitable candidates.
Either way, you can use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of the interview schedule and whether the interview went well or not.
Excel Recruitment Tips and Tricks
Luckily, there are several tips and tricks that you can embrace to ensure that you are making the most out of your Microsoft Excel efforts, especially when it comes to your recruitment processes.
- Consult the internet or a business like the Excel Expert for help in constructing the spreadsheet.
- House the spreadsheet in a shared space to allow for collaboration from other members of the team
- Ensure that it is comprehensive, with all the relevant information
- Update the spreadsheet regularly
- Consider using a template to create the spreadsheet
Advanced Excel Recruitment Functions
Depending on your skill level, whether or not you have a template or have outsourced the production of your spreadsheet, you might find that there are several advanced functions for you to explore. The advanced features can make it even easier to find the frontrunner or best candidate for the role.
Comparing Candidates
Microsoft Excel has a number of different functions. For example, in addition to the mathematical equations that you can do and use in Microsoft Excel, you can also compare data.
This capability then makes it easy to compare candidates; you can compare them in each of your desired specifications to continually weed out unsuitable candidates until you are left with the strongest pool of applicants. You can then use this to decide who to offer an interview to.
Managing Responses & Submissions
An excel spreadsheet can also be used to determine the replies to the ad, how they found the job ad and whether they have fulfilled all of the submission requirements, including cover letters, assessments, portfolios and questionnaires.
If your applicants cannot fulfil said requirements or they fail them, then you can make a note of this on the spreadsheet and terminate your efforts with that candidate.
Conduct Screening Tests
As mentioned above, you can use your Excel recruitment process to monitor the results of screening tests. For example, you can keep track of who passed what element.
You can also look for trends; for example, if more people are passing the initial screening test than the interview, it could be a sign that the initial screening test needs to be re-evaluated.
Is Excel Recruitment Right for Your Business?
Any business that regularly takes on new staff would benefit from the use of an Excel recruitment system – especially if you routinely receive a high number of applicants. It can make it a lot easier to weed out unsuitable candidates as well as helping the best candidate to stand out more.
If you do not have the capabilities to create your own, or you can’t find a template that works, then you should approach the Excel Experts. They can provide you with a bespoke solution
FAQs
How might Excel be used in recruitment efforts in a HR department?
It can be used to track the progress of applicants, analyse the recruitment process as a whole as well as helping to find the strongest candidate.
What’s the process to keep track of job candidates?
That depends entirely on your current processes. You can keep track of your job candidates in any way that you desire. Using an Excel system does arguably make the most sense; it allows you to keep track of the applicants, their contact info and the progress of their application.
Can I connect Excel Recruitment to a database?
It depends entirely on your knowledge base. For example, if you create the spreadsheet yourself or use a template, but your excel knowledge is lacking, then in truth, you probably won’t be able to connect it to a database.
However, if you use a solution from someone like the Excel Experts, they can provide you with a solution that is designed to be integrated with other in-house or external systems.
