"Aaron Wallis Sales Recruitment are a very friendly and professional recruitment organisation who listen to your needs, work with you and act on your behalf"
Ray Hood
Recruitment Checklist
Follow this link for a comprehensive 6-stage recruitment checklist: https://www.aaronwallis.co.uk/recruitment-checklist.pdf
Whether it's your first sales employee that you're hiring or a new field sales team, the following checklist to help systemise your process and keep track of your recruiting efforts.
Today's economy is exploding with talent, allowing you to be selective about the staff you would like to hire. Yet, the crucial step to filling a position is finding the exact right talent for the organisation - someone that has the skills for the job yet easily blends with the culture whilst interacting well with the team and, most importantly, believes in the company's mission.
There are three parts of the hiring checklist; the work prior to starting the hiring process, the search and selection of candidates, the interview, and the actual hire, the final step.
Each step should have adequate detail regarding your hiring checklist. This will help paint a clear picture to potential candidates regarding the nature of the hiring process involved in applying for an opening at your corporation.
Download Recruitment Plan Checklist
Identify Needs
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Determine the absolute need for a new or replacement position
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Think if there are any creative methods in which you could go about to accomplish the work without recruiting new employees (improve processes, eliminate work that might not be necessary, divide work up more efficiently)
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Type of contract - temporary, permanent, fixed contract
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What happens if the job isn't replaced?
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Consider Internal Applicants
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Could an individual be moved "sideways"/"horizontally" for development purposes
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Consider whether there are candidates within the wider organisation, e.g., sister companies?
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Post the position internally on the "Job Opportunities" website/bulletin board for a week. If you have difficulty finding a candidate that is qualified internally, state within the position that you are also advertising the position externally at the same time
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Send an internal email to all company employees to notify staff that a position has been posted and that unless applications are received, you are hiring employees externally.
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Select Recruitment Firm or Head-hunter
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Are they recognised selection experts in your field?
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Do they have recruitment expertise in this area?
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How do they attract candidates?
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How will they represent you in the company?
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What project timings do they suggest?
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Do their style and values fit into your organisation?
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What do they include in their fee?
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Is it a fixed fee or a percentage of salary?
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Do they work for your competitors?
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What are the resources they will assign to your project?
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What's their rebate or guarantee scheme?
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View selecting a recruitment partner - 10 reasons to choose Aaron Wallis - how do we compare?
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Draw Up Job Description, Person Profile And Preparation For The Interview
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Background Check (perform appropriate background checks that include employment history, education, criminal records, credit history etc. - see independent CV verification services)
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Develop and prioritise the key requirements needed for the position, including the qualifications, traits, characteristics and experience in which you seek in a candidate
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With assistance from either a recruitment company or your HR department, develop a well-thought-out and effective job description for the position which will attract the best candidates for the role (this will assist in writing the classified job advertisement - make sure you post the job online, give the job to a sales employment agency and post on your corporate website - screen resultant resumes for potential interviews with prospective employees)
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Determine the salary range for the position
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When candidates start applying - send emails to each applicant to acknowledge receipt of the CV. Further, clearly state that if the candidate appears to be a good match for the position (relative to your other applicants), you will contact them to schedule an interview. If not, you will keep their application/resume on file for a year in case other opportunities arise.
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Prepare for the interview - devise a careful selection that includes culture match, testing behaviour interview questions, psychometric testing etc. See how psychometric questionnaires can help your recruitment process.
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Ask the other departments with whom the new sales employee will be in contact with/work with, e.g. the Marketing department and the Finance department. Ask them what they are looking for in that sales candidate to help devise a job description and better understand the particular candidate characteristics they would prefer.
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The language used in job descriptions should avoid technical jargon and unexplained acronyms, abbreviations and ambiguity about responsibility.
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The language used within the job description should be matched to the type of job and be readily understood by the employees concerned.
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Develop the largest group of qualified candidates possible (search via professional associations, personal contacts, universities, search firms and other creative sources when necessary)
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Ensure you are clear about the post-holder's accountability for results and resources
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If needed, obtain the authority to recruit.
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Send the job vacancy form to the Human Resources Department/HR Consultancy Firm that you use or Company Administration Office.
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Other Things To Consider About The Potential Role
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Ideal date of commencement of employment
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Wages/Salary details
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Commission or bonus scheme
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Rate of overtime work
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Cash benefits that the employee is entitled to/additional benefits to help 'sell the job' - e.g. should you offer a car or car allowance?
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Pension Scheme - whether one exists and, if so, conditions
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Depending on contract type (duration of a temporary contract or termination date for a fixed-term contract)
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Number of hours in the workweek and workday. Procedure for scheduling
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Alternative work schedules/flex-time
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Annual leave entitlement
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5 Simple Steps To Planning A Successful Recruitment Campaign
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Decide geographically where to recruit - where to hold interviews, etc.
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Identify your unique selling points
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Develop the infrastructure to support new staff
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Identify methods to attract suitable candidates and identify the selection approaches that suit your needs.
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Carry out essential checks - reference checks etc
Points To Remember
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You mustn't forget to give as much information as possible to allow candidates to make an informed and rational decision about their interest and suitability for a post.
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Consider any legal requirement that would interfere with work and travel permissions that may prevent a candidate from working in a specific country.
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Provide relevant details of climate/security/isolation that candidates need to consider before applying for a job post
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To Conclude
Devising a recruitment checklist can save a lot of time and money (especially in the long run). When comparing the time and money to the estimated cost of a bad hire (this is estimated to be 3.75 times the cost of the first-year salary and benefits), spending just a little extra time creating a recruitment checklist doesn't look so unappealing after all.
Make sure you keep focused and motivated to help keep your recruitment search on track to find top talent. This will give you the best possibility of finding that "A" candidate instead of settling for the "B" or "C" candidate.
Follow this link for a comprehensive 6-stage recruitment checklist: https://www.aaronwallis.co.uk/recruitment-checklist.pdf
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Date published: 6th March 2025
by Rob Scott
Managing Director
About the author
Rob Scott
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