How to run the first round
Ask for days and hours, not flexibility. Ask which days and which hours, including weekends, public holidays, opening and closing shifts, and the fewest and most hours a week they want.
Settle the commute for the actual shift times. Ask how they will get there for the earliest start and home after the latest finish on your roster, not only whether the location is convenient.
Agree the weekly hours early. Under section 2 of the Employment Act 1955, a part-time employee is one whose agreed average weekly hours are more than 30% but not more than 70% of the normal weekly hours of a full-time employee in a similar role at the same enterprise. The hours you settle in the first round feed straight into that.
Let them answer outside office hours. A first round an applicant can finish at night or between shifts reaches the people who are at work when you would otherwise call.
First-round questions to ask
“Which days of the week can you work, and between what hours?”
Why ask it. Specific days and hours are what a roster is built from. “Flexible” is not.
“Can you work weekends and public holidays? Are there any you would need off?”
Why ask it. Weekend and holiday cover is where part-time rosters most often break.
“How many hours a week are you looking for, at least and at most?”
Why ask it. It shows whether the role fits them, and whether the hours stay within part-time.
“How would you get here for the earliest start, and home after the latest finish?”
Why ask it. Getting to and from late or early shifts is a common reason shift hires leave in the first weeks.
“Are you studying or working somewhere else? When does that schedule change?”
Why ask it. A new semester or a second job’s roster can change the hours someone can give within months.
Running it with Agentic Blue
Agentic Blue is an applicant tracking system. Applications arrive by themselves from Jobstreet application emails and the job’s own apply page, or as CVs you upload, in one list. AI reads every CV against the job’s must-haves and shows the CV line behind each one, the shortlist goes to the hiring manager as one link they answer, and everyone who applied stays in your talent pool for the next job.
With the AI Interviewer module switched on:
- Applicants answer through a link on their phone whenever they are free, and can stop and carry on later through the same link.
- Blue asks every applicant about availability and follows up when an answer is too vague to use.
- You can edit the screening questions before the opening goes live, so the days and hours your roster needs are asked every time.
Blue, the AI interviewer, asks every applicant about experience, expected salary, notice period and availability, and does not reject anyone: you decide who moves forward. How it works for employers in Malaysia is on the AI interviewer for Malaysia page, what candidates are told is on the trust page, and how Agentic Blue is priced is on the pricing page.
Where it fits less well
Hiring whoever walks in. If you hire on the spot from walk-ins, a screening step adds a day. It pays off when applicants outnumber the hours you have to call them.
Skills you judge by watching. A barista’s milk steaming or a cook’s knife work is judged on a trial shift. Use the first round to settle hours and commute, and the trial for the skill.
Questions people ask
What counts as part-time work under the Employment Act?
Section 2 of the Employment Act 1955 defines a part-time employee as one whose agreed average weekly hours are more than 30% but not more than 70% of the normal weekly hours of a full-time employee in a similar role at the same enterprise.
What should I ask part-time applicants first?
The days and hours they can work, weekends and public holidays, how many hours a week they want, and how they get to and from the site at shift times. Skills come after those.
Can part-time applicants do the first interview on their phone?
With Agentic Blue, yes. It is a typed interview through a link, with no app or account, and they can stop and come back through the same link.