For HR professionals and recruiters, going through the hiring process every time can be a real hassle. That’s why it’s a smart move to keep a record of potential future employees in one place. This place becomes a candidate database, a kind of organized collection.
Managing this database not only makes hiring faster but also makes it easy to find the right person with the skills you need when it’s time to hire.
In this blog, we’ll explore how to build and maintain a candidate database, keep it up to date, and continuously add new information to it.
Why should you bother about the candidate database?
Recruiters don’t just hire once; as companies grow, they often need to expand their teams. Repeating the hiring process from scratch every time is not only inefficient but also considered a bad practice. It consumes a lot of time collecting basic information and data points about the candidates.
Therefore, having a database can be a game-changer for recruiters, holding all potential candidates who might join in the future. This pool of ideal employees in your database makes it quick and easy to find the perfect fit for your organization when the time comes.
Next, we will discuss some steps that you can incorporate into building and maintaining the recruitment database for your organization.
5 Steps to Build Your Candidate Database
Building and managing a candidate database isn’t easy. It needs to be handled in a way that contributes positively to the recruitment process and the organization for which you are recruiting.
Organize your candidate database to ensure accurate and practical searching and data retrieval. So, here we’ve got 5 tips to effectively manage your candidate database. Let’s look at some ways to build your database.
1. Plan Ahead
Your database should be ready to add entries even before the actual hiring process begins. It can act as a repository for the entire recruitment process. To ensure its effectiveness, consider these key questions:
- Could the candidates in the database potentially become a good fit in the future?
- Is this database designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution for all departments?
- Will the data points in this database be regularly refreshed after a certain period?
2. Use of Application Tracking System (ATS)
ATS, or Application Tracking System, is a powerful tool designed to simplify job listing management and enhance the hiring process. These software solutions come equipped with built-in technologies that efficiently identify the best-fit candidates by analyzing the required skills and qualifications.
The ATS operates through a simple 4-step process:
- A job opening is entered into the ATS, providing details like the job title, necessary skills, and required experience.
- Using this information, the ATS develops a profile outlining the characteristics of the ideal candidate.
- As candidates submit their resumes, the ATS organizes and ranks them based on how closely they match the profile.
- Hiring managers can swiftly spot the most qualified candidates, efficiently advancing them in the hiring process.
However, the job title of a particular person might change over time as keep maintaining the database. To keep up fresh with this you can use data enrichment tools so that your database remains up to date.
3. Maintain Data Hygiene
Ensuring your recruitment database is both tidy and well-organized is vital for a smooth experience and future efficiency.
To keep things in order, establishing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is crucial. These procedures ensure that every piece of data entering the database goes through a standardized process, preventing any negative impacts.
Here are a couple of SOPs to consider:
- Inclusion of Key Data Points: Make it a rule to include essential data points, ensuring comprehensive information for each entry.
- Maintaining Consistent Formatting: Keep a consistent format across all entries, making the database easy to navigate and understand.
One major hurdle in database management is avoiding the repetition of entries. Implementing a routine cleanup process can help keep the database free from redundancy.
4. Segment the data
In the need to find the ideal candidate precisely when needed, this step ensures the organizing of your database for easy and effective use.
Segmenting your database involves categorizing individuals based on the roles and responsibilities they’ve managed or gained experience in. Further, adding a skill tag can make your database seamless.
While there are several ways to segment, the fundamental idea remains consistent—keeping individuals with similar attributes in the same group. This practice not only enhances the user-friendliness of your database but also ensures efficient and targeted candidate searches.
5. Keeping the Database Fresh using Data Enrichment
Creating a database is one challenge, but ensuring it stays updated with the latest insights is a different ball game. When constructing your recruitment database, keeping it filled with the most recent data points is crucial.
But how do you achieve that?
One effective method is by enriching the data!
Here’s a simple guide that walks you through the process of obtaining up-to-date information using the LinkedIn ID of the candidate.
To complete this task, we will implement a simple Python script to procure data about this candidate by communicating with EnrichmentAPI’s Person Enrichment API.
import requests
payload = {'api_key': 'APIKEY', 'linkedin_id': 'ayush-singhal-a0614a221'}
resp = requests.get('https://api.enrichmentapi.io/person', params=payload)
print (resp.text)
The above code simply imports the Requests library in Python for creating an HTTP connection. Afterward, we initialized our parameters consisting of the API Key and the LinkedIn ID of the candidate in the payload object to pass them with the GET request.
However, you need an API Key to run this Python script and retrieve data successfully.
For integrating the API Key in the above code, you can register on our website which will also award you with 50 free credits for testing.
After signing up, you can copy the API Key from the Enrichment API dashboard.
Next, integrate this API Key in the above Python script and execute the program in your project terminal. This will return you with the following data:
So, this is how you can gather the latest information about a candidate using our Person Enrichment API.
Read More: How data enrichment can help in talent recruitment!
5 Advantages of Having Fresh Data Points in Your Database
Having up-to-date information in your candidate database provides several significant advantages for recruiters and hiring managers alike. A few of them are discussed below.
1. Timely Decision-Making:
Fresh data ensures that decisions are based on the latest and most relevant information. When you have real-time insights into candidates’ skills, experiences, and qualifications, and even the contact credentials, you can make informed decisions swiftly, contributing to a more efficient hiring process.
2. Enhanced Accuracy:
Keeping your database current reduces the risk of inaccuracies. Outdated information may lead to misunderstandings or mismatches during the hiring process. Maintaining fresh data enhances the accuracy of candidate profiles, aligning them more closely with your current hiring needs.
3. Improved Candidate Engagement:
Candidates appreciate being considered for opportunities that align with their recent experiences and skills. A database regularly updated with fresh data allows you to engage with candidates more effectively, matching them with roles that truly fit their current expertise and aspirations.
4. Streamlined Communication:
One way to make seamless communication between you and the candidate is by having the correct contact information. This not only facilitates the recruitment process but also reflects positively on your organization, showcasing professionalism and attention to each detail.
5. Agility in Adapting to Changes:
When you have current data, the team managing the database can adapt quickly to changes in hiring needs. Be it a sudden shift in required skill or new positions opening up, a fresh database ensures you’re ready to deal with these changes without unnecessary delays.
Conclusion
Building a database is a real game-changer for recruiters. However, it’s important to note that creating a database isn’t a one-time task. It requires consistent updates with accurate and relevant data to keep it from going stale.
So, keep nurturing and expanding your database. The more you do, the more useful it becomes, evolving into a powerful tool for effective talent acquisition over time.
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