Attracting high-end talent in this competitive age is not easy when you have to analyse large pools of applicants across various platforms. When creativity is incorporated right from the hiring stage, it says a lot about the culture of the organisation. It can attract diverse and talented individuals who not only think out of the box but also who can break norms and add value.
So, are you looking to recruit the best talent? Most companies are, and many of them have customized their hiring process to help them secure quality talent. These companies still evaluate candidates on the essentials – including academic qualifications, skill set, and the right attitude – but they’ve gotten more innovative about their recruitment methods.
In this article, we’ll look at 20 companies with a unique hiring processes. Most of them still follow standard procedures, but they’ve introduced nuances to help them meet their specific recruitment needs.
Here’s the Low-Down
🔊Our picks of companies with a unique hiring process are:
- Menlo Innovations
- Nvidia
- Slack
- Microsoft
- DigitalOcean
- Uber
- Unilever and,
- L’Oreal
Before we get to the unique aspects, let’s review the typical steps.
A look at the Traditional Hiring Process
The standard hiring process typically includes some, or all, of the following steps:
- Identify vacant positions within the organisation.
- Set up budgets for hiring, onboarding, and training.
- Develop a job analysis and description to clarify the details of the role.
- Post the job description and opening on various platforms and job boards for applicants to fill.
- Collect, screen and shortlist resumes and profiles (an ATS might be used to pre-screen).
- Conduct skill assessment tests across various rounds of interviews.
- Grade and shortlist candidates based on their performance.
- Complete background and reference checks.
- Send the final offer to the selected candidates for the role and notify unselected candidates.
- Start the onboarding process by outlining the goals and values of the company, the projects and responsibilities the individual will undertake, etc.
So, where does recruitment become unique?
20 Companies with Unique Hiring Practices
Many companies are customizing the hiring process to better meet their talent acquisition goals – some are prioritizing diversity more, others place a strong emphasis on skills assessments, etc. By making your hiring process unique, you can attract some of the most creative and diverse talent.
Some major companies such as Netflix, Google, Amazon, Apple, Infosys, IBM, and Microsoft among others have adopted unique recruitment practices that have enhanced their hiring process, ensuring that the best applicants get through.
Let’s look at 20 companies that have introduced uniqueness and creativity in their hiring to attract their ideal talent.
1. Menlo Innovations
True to its name, Menlo Innovations transformed the hiring process. From its inception, Menlo skipped the traditional hiring approach. Enter - Mass Auditions! Here, applicants are paired up at the auditions and assigned a task to complete, which mimics the company’s working style.
What makes this exercise stand out is that each candidate must ensure their ‘partner’ progresses to the next stage of the hiring process, promoting collaboration and a strong team spirit. The pairings are shuffled during the audition, and the process is repeated, with each pair being observed by a different member of the company.
Once the audition is over and the candidates have left, the whole team evaluates each candidate based on the observations of their team members, and a poll decision is made. This reflects on the company’s unique culture and builds collaboration and teamwork as their strong suits, making it unique and our #1 on the list of unique hiring processes.
2. Informatica
Translating academic knowledge to solving real-world problems is exactly why Informatica prioritises hiring the best young talent. The company conducts a series of 5-6 rounds to recruit from the pool of fresh graduates.
The majority of the hiring process consists of four technical rounds, which include a series of design problems, coding assessments, and possibly puzzle-solving. Applicants are also questioned regarding any projects they have previously worked on. The Human Resources round is based on questions about candidates, their strengths and weaknesses, family, and resume. Informatica’s recruiters have been described as friendly, but the questions they ask are challenging to ensure merit-based hiring.
Ask Strategic Questions and Receive Actionable Insights to Hire Better
3. Dyson
Similar to Informatica, Dyson’s talent acquisition process is focused on acquiring talented students from high school, and its hiring process is tailored accordingly. They have a program that gives students practical experience through work and study to train them for engineering positions. The study leads to graduation with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.
By graduation, students have their academic qualifications and practical work experience. This commitment from Dyson allows the company to ‘feed’ top talent into its recruitment funnel. The company’s focus is on students who show drive and curiosity and have a passion for creating something new. They value these qualities more than experience.
Additionally, Dyson sends its engineers to top universities to view end-of-year engineering project design shows and to speak with the students. This also allows them to identify and recruit quality talent.
4. Nvidia
Nvidia lays a heavy emphasis on creating a workplace like never before. They want their employees to solve some of the world’s hardest problems and discover unique ways to improve the quality of life for people everywhere. This means hiring the very best talent through a series of 5-6 rounds.
The written round has two main sections; a General Aptitude test and a technical test. Next up is a coding round to evaluate applicants’ problem-solving skills. Then, there are following interview rounds for the qualified candidates which include questions about the applicant’s resume, and more coding and puzzle-based problems. The questions are mentally challenging to evaluate each applicant’s critical thinking skills.
You could have a one-on-one discussion round, panel interview or be a part of a small group as part of the selection process. The final HR round focuses on getting to know the candidate by asking questions about their personal life and their personality. Interviewers use more challenging, scenario-based questions to evaluate the candidates’ responses and assess their cultural fit.
5. Slack
Slack is well-known as a revolutionary collaboration tool – but the company is also regarded for its diverse and inclusive hiring policy, which supports candidates from all backgrounds.
In their commitment to inclusivity, Slack has eliminated hiring practices like whiteboard interviews and replaced it with a technical exercise. Moreover, they also give applicants the option to complete any assessment on-site as opposed to at home, to avoid distractions at home. This shows that they prioritise candidate experience in the hiring process as well.
Slack’s structured interview process includes questions focused on assessing a candidate’s skills and the projects they’ve worked on - where an in-depth discussion with 4-5 team members is conducted during the onsite interview process.
They also train the company’s interviewers by conducting role-plays to train them. The objective is to ensure they treat all candidates equally and with consideration.
Just like Slack, WeCP also understands the importance of candidate experience in recruitment. That’s why, when using our platform, you can see how we’ve humanised our processes to turn candidates into champions.
RIP test anxiety; Give your candidates the experience they deserve
6. ThoughtWorks
Thoughtworks has a very thorough hiring process, divided into three stages consisting of 6-10 rounds. Like Dyson and Informatica, they focus on hiring fresh graduates and young talent. Thoughtworks’ process stands out because it’s conducted entirely online; its goal is to make the recruitment process convenient and flexible for applicants.
The company has created a collaborative and interactive hiring process that analyses candidates’ attributes, skills, and personalities.
The hiring begins with coding rounds, followed by technical interviews, then a technical round, a leadership round, and finally, an HR round. The applicant’s knowledge, skills, and thinking skills are evaluated using coding assessments and puzzles.
Interviewers also use social issue scenarios to assess a candidate’s values and empathy – to determine their cultural fit. The leadership round is conducted by senior management, who discuss scenarios to grasp the applicant’s leadership potential. The final HR round follows the traditional method of using personal questions to vet the candidate’s cultural fit.
▶️ Read more: Comparing Culture Fit vs. Culture Add
7. Citrix Systems
After Citrix Systems receives and accepts an application, the recruiter contacts the candidate and guides them through the whole hiring process. It’s almost like a buddy system. This process benefits the company by helping the recruiter learn more about the candidate, and it also improves the candidate’s experience.
Citrix Systems has an inclusive and diverse recruitment policy and offers help to candidates who may face challenges in the recruitment process. The Citrix hiring process also combines assessments with online or on-site interviews depending on the role the candidate is applying for.
The hiring process typically consists of five rounds, starting with an online test, which is followed by three technical rounds. Finally, there is the HR round to assess for cultural fit. The exact nature of each round can vary, but the technical round contains coding assessments and puzzles.
8. Infosys
Infosys is a leading global IT solutions & consulting company known for its top talent and unique hiring practices. The tech giant has mastered balancing internal hiring with external to acquire the best talent for specialized roles.
While many companies look to hire externally to fill new, specialized roles, Infosys looked within. In 2016, the company introduced Compass, an internal digital platform that redefined Infosys’ approach to hiring. Compass helped employees at Infosys grow their careers by upskilling and taking up more advanced roles within the company.
As for Infosys’ recruitment process itself, the company follows a similar pattern to most tech giants, including:
- An initial online assessment test evaluates logical and analytical reasoning skills, quantitative aptitude, and verbal skills. Infosys mitigates bias by using AI to evaluate the tests.
- A technical interview that involves questions related to the applicant’s resume and expertise. Candidates may also be asked to solve quizzes or puzzles.
- A final interview to determine cultural fit.
Infosys is committed to fair, merit-based hiring and diversity.
▶️ Read More: How WeCP helped Infosys Evaluate 100k+ Super Coders
9. IBM
IBM has a diverse and inclusive workplace, courtesy of its inclusive hiring process that is designed to be accessible to all.
IBM’s hiring process puts candidates through a series of assessment tests, all of which have been scientifically validated. The tests are tailored to each position and designed to prioritise merit and skill-based hiring. This makes IBM’s testing process fair and reduces hiring bias in the recruitment process.
IBM’s assessments cover coding, cognitive ability, and IPAT tests. Successful candidates then move on to the next stage, where they can be invited for an online interview; and then visit a company assessment centre, where they engage in a range of group exercises.
IBM reserves face-to-face interviews for candidates who pass the initial evaluation. The interview questions vary and focus on learning about the candidates’ prior experiences and grasping their potential.
IBM is also committed to delivering a positive candidate experience – they provide status updates and application feedback to their candidates.
▶️ Read more: Top 5 Ways To Enhance Technical Candidate Recruitment Experience
10. Microsoft
Microsoft has recently analyzed its hiring process and made changes to refine its talent acquisition strategy. The megacorp is searching for people who exhibit traits like adaptability, creativity, and action-orientedness.
Recruiters prioritize evaluating applicants for the five aspects of the company’s culture, including a growth mindset, diversity and inclusion, and specific manager expectations.
▶️ Read more: Why Diversity Hiring is Vital to Building the Best Workforce
Microsoft has instigated certain changes to improve the hiring process, including:
- Sharing the questions with the candidate before the interview
- Taking an interactive approach to the interview
- Shifting from asking brain teaser questions to ones that evaluate behavioural competence
Also, to prevent bias, the first interviewer will not discuss the candidate with the next interviewer until after the second one meets the candidate. Discussion is delayed until the interview process has been completed, to reduce bias.
11. Facebook
Facebook’s hiring process is structured and divided into 4 main stages; the resume, a phone call, interviews on-site, and the final review by the hiring committee.
The Big Tech company is looking for candidates who express traits such as curiosity and a desire to create something new.
For technical roles, Facebook’s interviews focus on evaluating the candidates’ technical knowledge and skills. The process also includes ‘take home’ assessments to evaluate the candidate’s concepts and practical skills.
▶️ Read more: A Guide to Facebook’s Software Engineer Interview Process
This might include tests that take a maximum of 30 minutes, such as a whiteboard coding test or a take-home coding challenge. These assessments usually last no more than 30 minutes, and candidates are required to elucidate their solutions.
Facebook recruiters also take feedback from the rest of the team to help finalize their hiring decision.
12. Apple
The specifics of Apple’s hiring process are private, and the company does not openly disclose specifics about its interview methods. However, it’s well-known to be a multi-stage hiring process – which is common to Big Tech. The process includes the initial application, a telephone interview, assessment tests, and a final interview.
Apple’s interviewing process is also known to be longer and more demanding than that of other tech giants. Apple’s recruiters are said to prioritize technical questions, and candidates may also be asked to work with existing teams on group projects related to the role they are applying for. They may also be given a role-play exercise and will need to complete a case study assessment.
13. Amazon
Amazon’s hiring process has multiple steps, which include online assessment tests, virtual interviews, and on-site tests. The final decision comes from the hiring committee, which consists of a panel of personnel that were involved in the evaluation process (e.g., the interviewers and test conductors).
The interview questions reportedly vary in type and difficulty, making the process challenging.
Amazon’s interview process is influenced by its Leadership Principles, including Customer Obsession – and candidates are also given a test on the principles themselves.
The applicants for engineering roles are given rigorous coding challenges, which include pre-interview tests and coding and design challenges.
14. Google
This megacorp is focused on implementing a hiring process that reflects the company’s culture of inclusion and diversity. Google prioritizes evaluating applicants for their skills, aptitude, thinking skills, and cultural fit.
Like all FAANG entities, Google has a multi-stage hiring process that includes reviewing the application, rounds of interviews, and hands-on assessment. Their interviews are typically structured or semi-structured interview to reduce bias and ensure a fair evaluation.
▶️ Read more: Big Tech Hiring Practices: How FAANG Hires Engineers
Google tailors the exact process depending on the role to meet the job’s specific demands. The tech giant’s core emphasis is on assessing applicants’ practical skills – so Google relies on a combination of coding quizzes and other sample tests and structured questions. They might also assign project work to evaluate an applicant’s skillset more deeply.
The hiring decision is not left to a single recruiter – a team of them makes the final call.
15. Netflix
Netflix provides applicants with a transcript of the company’s core values and culture at the start of the hiring process. The recruiter first contacts the applicant by phone, and they attempt to evaluate how good a potential fit for the company is. If the recruiter feels there is potential, the candidate receives a phone call from the hiring manager, whose evaluation can lead to on-site interviews.
▶️ Read more: Engineering Culture and Hiring at Netflix
Netflix usually targets engineers with at least three years of experience as opposed to fresh graduates – hiring experienced personnel forms the core of their strategy. Their interview process involves face-to-face discussion with different team members, where applicants are asked detailed questions about their knowledge of programming and technology.
Candidates may also have to solve problems and challenges on-site, and Netflix may also give them a timed take-home test. Applicants who progress from this stage face three further evaluation sessions with human resources, the hiring manager, and the engineering team manager, respectively. The interviewers ask questions to assess and evaluate technical knowledge and the candidates’ cultural fit.
16. DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean prioritizes the relationship that develops between recruiters and candidates; their approach is to establish trust and a rapport that will enable them to effectively find the right person for the job and their firm. The applicant’s resumes are evaluated by humans and not AI. If selected, an interview round commences with the HR, the Hiring Manager and the Team. Here, either a lunch meeting or an online meet will be scheduled where the past behaviour of the candidate is evaluated. DigitalOcean’s interviewers adopt the STAR method to analyse high-level performers with the skills and qualities that fit the company and the job role.
Potential, values and aptitude are qualities that they look for in each candidate, which helps them filter out the best talent.
▶️ Read more: How to Know Someone Will Have a Positive Impact After You Hire Them
17. Uber
As a well-established company, Uber is set on hiring go-getters, those who think out of the box are and willing to make it happen. Their interview process also reflects the same. The focus lies on ensuring that the candidate aligns with Uber’s beliefs, values and mission.
To reimagine the way the world moves, Uber has a 4-step hiring process:
- Talking with Talent Acquisition: This is a chance to get to know Uber better. The understanding of “Why you do what you do and what matters most to you” is what drives candidates to perform better.
- Talking to the Hiring Manager: In this step, the STAR method is adopted (similar to DigitalOcean) where the candidates’ experience and skills are evaluated. The hiring manager evaluates how concepts that align with Uber’s values were used by candidates in the past. Data drives Uber so answers that are data-centric are preferred.
- Assessments and Technical Interviews: Depending on the role, candidates might be given assignments to understand their functional knowledge and problem-solving approach.
- Panel Interview Round: Finally, a panel of team members will assess the qualified candidates and participate in a Bar Raising Program.
The Bar Raising Program was adopted to ensure fairness and uphold the quality of hires for Uber. Here, recruiters talk to candidates and later advocate for them amongst a deciding team if they think they are a perfect fit.
18. Sapient
Sapient visits campuses to recruit fresh graduates by conducting a series of evaluation rounds. This includes:
- An initial coding round to assess problem-solving skills. It consists of two assessment questions that must be solved within a given period. The second challenge is tougher than the first.
- A domain interview to assess their knowledge level. The applicants are asked a series of technical questions to assess their knowledge and understanding,
- A final HR round
The final round by HR is focused on getting to know the candidate and their personality in more depth to assess for cultural fit. The questions also assess the candidate’s values and principles, and scenario-based questions are also combined with more knowledge-based ones.
19. Unilever
Unilever is known for its unique and creative hiring and recruiting process, which is designed to identify candidates who align with the company's values and have the potential to drive growth and innovation. The company has adopted an AI-driven college hire candidate sorting and assessment approach. The process begins by using a LinkedIn profile instead of a resume, and then it uses AI to select the best prospects.
Next, it uses a series of online games to further narrow down the field. Then it uses a recruiting platform for assessing recorded video interviews to further assess the best candidates using criteria that include the assessment of facial expressions.
Only then are the final candidates offered an in-person interview with the line manager to assess the candidates’ skills on a deeper level and understand their role and future at Unilever.
20. L’Oreal
L'Oreal's recruitment process emphasizes digital and social media engagement. The company uses virtual experiences and games to assess candidates' creativity and innovation. L’Oréal values diversity and encourages unconventional thinking. The company even experimented with an innovative recruitment method: accepting applications written in emojis! This approach aimed to resonate with younger generations and showcase the company’s openness to creativity.
The company’s selection process remains to be:
- Online Application: Candidates fill out an application on L’Oréal’s careers website, detailing their qualifications, experience, and training.
- Assessment Tests: Depending on the role, candidates may undergo aptitude tests.
- Interviews: Candidates participate in interviews, which may include recruiter interviews and business interviews.
- Technical Assessment: For certain positions, technical assessments are conducted.
- Final Decision: Based on the overall evaluation, L’Oréal makes its hiring decision.
L'Oréal's hiring and recruiting process is known for its focus on attracting diverse talent with an emphasis on innovation, creativity, and cultural fit. The company uses a variety of unique and engaging strategies to identify top talent and maintain its reputation as a leading global beauty brand. L’Oreal also hosts virtual internships and early careers programs such as the L'Oréal Management Trainee Program, to attract and train young talent. These programs provide hands-on experience and development opportunities in various aspects of the business.
Should You Reinvent the Wheel?
When a process already works, why should you? From our list of 20 companies with unique hiring processes, you might have noticed that the overlying processes are quite similar. The differences come in specific nuances that help the companies meet their specific talent acquisition goals.
So, stick with what works, but innovate when necessary. Your ideal talent differs from another company’s, so ensure your hiring process is tailored to your audience.
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