Unifying Stage Names within Greenhouse Interview Plans

Within the popular applicant tracking system (ATS) Greenhouse, talent acquisition teams can set up Interview Plans. In order to get the most out of Greenhouse, consider unifying the Interview Plan stages so you are able to keep an accurate pulse on coverage and progress on open roles.

This effort will result in accurate reporting. Having accurate reporting will ensure that your talent acquisition team receives the right amount of recruiting support that will enable you to fill headcount by the targeted start dates.

At the end of this blog post is a screenshot of a template job. This template job can be used whenever you are creating a new job in Greenhouse to ensure you are following the same skeleton for reporting purposes.

You will still be able to fully customize your interviews within these stages. However, consider having these unified stages companywide:

1. Application Review: review resumes

2. Stage 1 Interviews: introductory call, typically held by internal or external recruiter, possible hiring manager if no recruiting team)

3. Stage 2 Interviews: recruiting screening call, initial phone/zoom with hiring manager

4. Stage 3 Interviews: interview with other leadership team members, tech test, take home assignment)

5. Stage 4 Interviews: final rounds, presentations, 30/60/90 day plans, executive panel interview / final zoom with hiring manager

6. Pre-offer: -Reference check process from previous direct managers -Pre-closing calls are held when a hiring manager is confident that they’d like to make an offer, it focuses on verifying specific offer related details and receiving buy in from candidate. Ideally receiving verbal confirmation that the candidate would accept an offer at verified terms. And run ARPO process (outlined in FAQ section). -Social media review

7. Offer: -The spelling, spacing, and capitalization of the stage names need to be 100% accurate. So it’s best to work from the template. The interview names within stages don’t need to be unified and are not sensitive to spelling etc.

Keep in mind that with Greenhouse you can have multiple interviews within a stage should you require it for your process.

FAQs

Where do I find the template job?

1. Click create a new job in Greenhouse

2. Select, Copy an Existing Job

3. Select, the Job Status Draft on the drop-down field

4. Select, the job Standard Template Job

5. Ensure the proper department is selected for your job

Do I need to update the stages for existing jobs? Will updating the stage name impact any data attached to interviews and existing jobs?

No, you don’t need to update any of your active stages. Changing the stage names will not impact data saved to the interviews within stages.

If I have more than 4 interview stages should I delete them?

No. Never delete interview plan stages. This will hurt your data integrity and delete important information.

If you currently have more than 4 stages in Greenhouse for interviews, it’s ok. Moving forward, work from the template and you can put as many interviews as needed within the 4 stages provided.

What if I only need 3 interview stages for my role?

You will still use the 4th stage for the final round interview. You can skip stage 2 and move directly to Stage 3. If you only have 2 interview stages you can skip stage 2 and 3. Stages that are not needed for a job may be deleted from the job set up section.

We recommend following a process called ARPO in these pre-closing calls.

• Activity (How many other opportunities are you considering?)

• Rank (How do you rank these opportunities?)

• Process (Where are you in the process with these opportunities?)

• Offers (Do you have any existing or pending offers?)

Example Screenshot

Video Walkthrough

How SecureVision Can Help

Here at SecureVision, we are constantly helping our clients with their ATS implementations and optimization efforts - including Greenhouse. Given our experience working with over 140 VC-backed growth-stage companies, our talent advisors are constantly in ATS systems and know all the nuances to be successful. For more information on how we can help with your ATS, and hiring goals, please reach out to us.