In recruiting, finding ways to quickly scan through qualified candidates is always a plus. From using requisition knock out questions as the candidate applies to virtual screening, eliminating non-qualified applicants up front helps in narrowing the field of candidates.
And for the candidates who answer knockout questions correctly and make it to the applicant pool in a requisition – is there a way to distinguish between them or at least review in an order that works for the recruiter?
Here’s where the Candidate Display Options can be used to quickly scan through candidates. The recruiter can easily choose available display fields to sort by what is most meaningful for the position. And when dealing with high volume openings, every little thing helps. Work with your implementation partner or support team to take full advantage of the Candidate Display Options.
When viewing candidates in the requisition, the Display Options is next to Action. Click on Display Options and the pop-up shows the available fields to display on the screen.
Fields in the Candidate Display Options
SuccessFactors Recruiting has the ability to add fields to the Candidate Display Options. This can be through a change in the Candidate Profile and Application XML or through the Management Template Feature in Recruit Management. Work with your partner to update the Candidate Display Options to meet your needs.
Please note per SAP: “the Management Template Feature is extremely powerful and should only be done by qualified individuals familiar with your configuration.” Further information can be found at: https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2644550
“Considerations When Choosing Candidate Display Fields” listed below will help in deciding the fields you should consider.
First, some examples of different Candidate Display Options. In the Candidate Display Options screen, the first column is always the Standard Fields column which contains information such as Rating, Source, Last Updated. But what about the application fields the recruiter checks before deciding who to contact, the order to contact, or not at all?
In the example below, the Display Options contains the basic candidate information in the second column. But this is not very useful when trying choose which candidates to pursue.
1st column is Standard Fields – this does not change.
The recruiter checks which fields to show on the screen – the order in the columns is the order fields appear on the screen
Did the candidate answer questions on the application, fill out past employment information, education? Did the candidate take surveys or tests when they applied? If they are part of the application, then the results can be displayed. You don’t have to open each application to see the fields. They can be part of the Candidate Display Options.
With the Candidate Display Options fields checked and then sorting on the header of the column, a recruiter can view the candidates in the way that works best to determine which candidates to contact, wait to contact or to eliminate.
Considerations When Choosing Candidate Display Fields
Below are a few considerations when deciding on the Candidate Display Options application fields:
- Which application fields do recruiters review first – which are the most useful
- How many columns
- Order of the columns
- Order of the items within the columns
- Length of field name
- Required application field or optional field
- External vs Internal application questions
- When the candidates are required to answer the question
Which fields do recruiters review first?
Recruiters will know which application fields they look at first to find the most qualified candidates. Compile a list and narrow down to the top 5 or 10. These fields should be on the Candidate Display Options list to quickly identify which candidates to advance.
How many columns?
The Candidate Display Option columns should have grouped fields. For example, a column each for:
- Contact information
- Application answers
- Test scores
- Screening data
How many columns depends on how you want to see and sort the information.
Order of the columns
Order the columns in a way the recruiters use it. The Standard Fields column is always first but then you can order the following columns the way it makes sense to the recruiters. The order they are placed in the xml is how they will appear to the recruiter.
Order of the items within each column
You can also choose the order the items are listed under each column. The order in the list is the order the items will appear in the display. Top to bottom in the list – left to right in the display screen.
Length of the Field Name Label
The length of the field name is very important. There is no way to shorten the name of the label to appear differently in the column. So if you want to show the answer to the question on the application that has the label “Have you ever applied to our company or any subsidiaries within the last two years?”, the entire wording will appear as the column name and it does not wrap. To solve this, you can have the question on the application, and then a different field for the answer be with shorter verbiage: “Company answer y/n”. But please note this will add more information for the candidate to read and respond.
Another way to handle the length of the name is to have the lengthy questions in one column. Since the Candidate Display Option fields are chosen by the recruiters, they can easily choose the fields they want to see at the time they want to use them. Therefore, if they want to see all New Applications that answered NO to the question “Have you ever applied to our company or any subsidiaries within the last two years?” before reviewing any other applications, they can click on that display field, work with those candidates, then un-click the display field.
Required application field or optional field.
Is the application field Required or Optional? If it is optional and the candidate has not answered, then it will be blank for that candidate. If it is required and shows blank, the candidate is a forwarded candidate who has not yet applied.
External vs Internal application questions
If the field is specific to only internal candidates, then only internal applications will have data in the field. Same for external.
When are the candidates required to answer the question?
If it is a multi-stage application and candidates are not required to answer certain questions or enter certain fields until a few steps into the Talent Pipeline, then the information will not appear in the Candidate Display Options column until the candidate enters the information on the application.
Conclusion
The Candidate Display Options can easily be a forgotten asset – set it up once to see what you want and forget about it. But taking a little time up front to configure the display fields to help sort through candidates quickly can save a lot of time and effort in the long run. And it is easy to use, quickly checking and un-checking the fields to display.
Work with your implementation or support team to take full advantage of the Candidate Display Options.
For more information about integrating and automating SAP SuccessFactors recruiting, check out our book here!
Need some in-person help? Contact us at info@worklogix.com!
Worklogix Blog 