Industries

Screening by industry

Every sector that hires at volume breaks the first round in its own way: shift patterns, festive peaks, commutes, the language customers speak. These pages cover what the first round has to establish in each, and the questions that establish it.

• Retail

  Store vacancies draw a large pile of applications, and most of them fall apart on the same few facts: the weekend roster, the closing shift and how the applicant gets home. A first round that settles those early spares your store managers interviews that were never going to work.

• Food and beverage

  Restaurants, cafes and central kitchens need people who can start soon, work the busy hours and stay past the first month. The first round should find those people before your outlet manager picks up the phone.

• Contact centres

  Contact centres hire in batches, against a class start date that does not move. The first round has to tell you quickly who can work the shifts, handle the language on the account and still be there after training.

• Logistics and warehousing

  Warehouses and delivery fleets hire hardest just before the busy season, often for sites that are awkward to reach. A first round that confirms shifts, transport and the physical side of the work keeps peak hiring from turning into peak turnover.

• Hospitality

  A hotel hires for front office, housekeeping, kitchen and banquets at the same time, and each department looks for something different. The first round should settle what every department shares, so heads of department only meet applicants worth their time.

• Security services

  A guarding contract is only as good as the guard who arrives for the night shift. The first round has to confirm shifts, site and transport before an applicant goes on a roster where one no-show leaves a post empty.

Hiring for one specific role? Screening questions by role.