Navigating the hiring process can be a daunting challenge for even the most seasoned managers, but this is particularly true when hiring is not your primary responsibility. With limited time and resources, most hiring managers seek to move the process to completion as quickly as possible and to take advantage of any shortcuts available to them.

In our experience, the most effective searches, as well as those with the most efficient processes and shortest times to hire, begin with a clearly defined and well thought-out process that is set down on paper in a document that we at Commongood Careers refer to as a Search Strategy Plan.

An effective Search Strategy Plan includes several major elements that we will explore in this article: defining the position, writing an internal job description and external posting, developing a recruitment plan and setting up a screening process.