What are the common hiring mistakes?
Hiring the wrong person can turn out to be a very costly affair.
Not just the financial cost but further factors such as team morale, time wasted and having to revisit the whole process again.
So here is a list of commonly made hiring mistakes:
Poor Candidate Experience. The ‘candidate experience’ is vital to attract the very best candidate. That experience starts from the moment he/she has applied for the position right through to their start date. Ultimately the candidate must get excited about working for you and your company.
Halo and Horns Effect. A phenomenon normally associated with the interviewer making an instant internal decision from the moment he/she meets the candidate. This ‘instant’ decision can be dangerous as it can stifle the interview, break its flow and ultimately prevent the opportunity to make an informed decision on whether the candidate is suitable of not. Ways to reduce the opportunity for this to happen is to be conscious of it and to have a structured interview format.
Previous Mistakes. Quite often hiring mistakes will have been made before and these form a key aspect of how you improve your hiring techniques. Identifying, discussing, documenting and reflecting on these prior to starting a new hiring process will help you significantly reduce further poor decisions.
Ignoring Red Flags. Throughout the hiring process ‘Red Flags’ can present themselves; these are key ‘warning’ signals which if ignored can again result in poor hiring decisions. Good examples would include the CV displaying gaps in employment, candidates unable to produce educational & training certificates, failure to follow instructions, little or no interview preparation, poor grammar & spelling, job-hopping and being overly negative about previous positions held.
Employing a person who is less qualified to save money. You might be saving money on their salary, but do they lack the skills and ability to add the value to your business which was your initial desired outcome.
Hiring too quickly or too slowly. If you are under pressure to hire someone quickly this can often lead to speeding up every step of the hiring process leading to shortcuts and mistakes being made. Conversely, taking too much time to hire can lead to good candidates being lost to competitor companies. Ultimately you must be ‘ready to hire’ and have a structured hiring plan.
Not checking references. Most people would not make a ‘considered purchasing decision’ without completing various checks, for example when buying a car, checking the service history. So why would you potentially risk making a similar mistake when hiring a new employee? Where possible always check references.
Poor Job Description. Quite often the first step of attracting suitable candidates is the response to your advertised job description. An effective job description is not the easiest document to produce so get your team involved, test it and be prepared to alter it. If using a commercial job board, ask your account manager for help. Still not sure, speak with one of the team here at Demob Job on 0333 3445577 and we will give you feedback on your job description at no cost.
Not including your team. Making a hiring decision without the support of your key employees could lead to your team wondering why you made the hiring decision in the first place. Minimum good practise would be to include the immediate line manager of the potential new employer.
