At CES we strive to match reliable and hard-working employees with our clients’ businesses in order to help them grow and improve continuously, as well as, finding the perfect position for our workers. To successfully match employees with businesses we determine which candidates are qualified, knowledgeable and experienced through our extensive selection process.
Resume Screening
The first step in our recruitment process for any candidate is receiving and screening resumes.
When we receive a resume, we directly upload it into our database and then examine it to select and highlight certain skills and previous work experience the candidate has had in the past. This enables us to organize each candidate into different job categories to ensure we are matching their skills with job positions we have available.
Pre/Phone Screen
Once we have a resume in our system we will then proceed to phone screen that candidate.
For our general labour positions we will call qualified candidates to identify what kind of work the candidate is looking for, their availability, and to familiarize ourselves with the candidate’s interest and ambition. We will also provide the candidate with more information about what CES offers and explain the “Temp to Perm” approach.
Phone screening is much more extensive for skilled trades, supervisory and higher paying job positions. During the phone interviews, a multitude of pre-qualifying questions regarding past experience, skills, and abilities will be asked to ensure that we are recommending the right candidate to our client. We also ask questions regarding the timeline of a candidate’s work history to ensure that they will be a loyal employee to our clients.
After the phone interviews, if the candidate is interested in the job position and we have determined him/her to be a good fit we will then invite them into one of our offices for an in-person interview and testing.
In-Person Interview/Testing
Our interview and testing process is extensive and has a duration of around 1.5 – 2 hours.
This helps us determine which candidates are serious about obtaining a position within the company.
All of our candidates will fill out required paperwork as well as complete a WHMIS test, a violence in the workplace and an accessibility questionnaire. After the registration package is completed, we then go through the entire package with the candidate to ensure all signatures are accounted for and to ensure that WHMIS test scores are 80% or above.
Our general labour candidates will complete testing before they are interviewed to ensure that they receive an acceptable score on the WHMIS test. Once the registration package has been reviewed, the candidate will then speak with a recruiter about availability, means of transportation, physical capabilities, location etc… to assure we send them to a job that admits personal preferences.
We perform in-person interviews for skilled trades, supervisory, and higher paid candidates prior to the testing stage.
This is done in order to assure that we have made the right choice and that they would be a good fit for our client. We take an in depth look at the candidate’s previous work experience and ask more detailed questions regarding duties performed and responsibilities held in previous positions.
The in-person interview is designed to ensure information provided agrees with previous answers given in the phone screening process as well as obtain any additional information we may require (i.e. 3 working references). Once we have found a good fit with our higher paid candidates we will require them to fill out all mandatory paperwork and additional tests directly relating to the position applied for (mathematics, comprehension, dexterity, orientation, etc…).
Post Interview
If we feel we can utilize the general labour candidates immediately (i.e. we have a current opening) we will give them job specs, have them start work as soon as possible and follow up with them via phone to confirm them for their first scheduled shift.
If we do not have any current openings we will let them know that we will contact them for any prospective jobs we receive.
The post interview process differs for higher end candidates. After the interview and testing are complete, we send our client the candidate’s resume along with a synopsis of interview notes to display why they would be ideal for the open position.
Once the candidates are submitted we then wait to hear back from the client who they would like to select for an additional interview at the job location. Candidates who are not selected for a third interview will then be notified and we will maintain their resume on file for any other openings in which they would be quintessential.
Once a successful candidate has been interviewed by our client, we will then execute working reference checks. We will call all references received during the in-person interview process. We ask a vast set of prepared questions to each reference to guarantee consistency in responses. We send each completed reference document through to our client who will then review and decide whether or not to hire the submitted candidate.