The current job market is saturated with many candidates who adopt'the scatter-gun approach with their CV; applying to anything which seems vaguely relevant to the type of role they are after.

But there are processes that companies can'put in place to ensure that their recruitment process runs smoother in this challenging time.

I have put together my top ten tips to recruiting in a candidate saturated market below. 'I hope you find them useful.

1. Ensure you know exactly what the role is you are trying to fill.' Have a meeting with the relevant stakeholders to make sure everybody is in agreement on the type of individual you require.

2. Following the meeting, put together a detailed person spec and job description and prioritise the essentials for the role, and the nice to have bonus skills.

3. Next is the decision on which method to choose to recruit.' To avoid the large costs that traditional agencies charge, you should consider streamlining your recruitment process with Response.' Find out how we could save you a lot of money, whilst delivering excellent results, here.

4. When you have decided on your agency, which will hopefully be Response, make sure that you have a detailed job description and an outline of the type of candidate you are looking for.

5. We are experts in ensuring that only the best CVs'are sent over to you.' But if you have decided to take the arduous task of sifting CVs yourself, ensure that you have set aside an afternoon to go through them to ensure you don't overlook a great candidate.

6. Set up interviews quickly.' Good candidates don't stay on the market for long, and if you leave it for longer than a week then you are likely to miss recruiting the very best.' Draw up your shortlist and decide exactly how many you want to interview.

7. Map out your interview process.' Are you looking at a one, two or even three stage process?' Where are you meeting?' Try and ensure you pick a location which is quiet and where the candidate can be put at ease.' I was once interviewed in a cafeteria for a senior marketing position and the interview was almost farcical with the amount of noise surrounding us.' Decide on whether the first interview will be formal and whether or not you want to include competency based questions or even skill testing.

8. Practice your own interview technique.' Remember that an interview is also there to ascertain if a candidate is interested in you and the company.' Candidates will quickly lose confidence in you and the company if you are unprepared.' E.g. the cafeteria example above.

9. To ensure a candidate's level of confidence in you and the company is optimised, it is vital that you keep the candidate in the loop throughout the whole process.

10. Once you have decided on the person you want to bring in, act swiftly & get the offer out within a day or two of the final interview.'' Before you do, ensure that you have negotiated an appropriate level of salary with the candidate to ensure that the person you are looking to bring on board feels valued.

And if you need any assistance in the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us here, or you can join the LinkedIn Response Knowledge Network here.