Hiring Mistakes

Pre-screen candidates. Just a few minutes on the phone may save you hours of wasted effort. During the pre-screening, discuss the candidate’s skills and experience and review his/her salary requirements to eliminate those who don’t fit into your budget.

Prepare candidates. Streamline your interview by providing the candidate information about your company, the job description, the background and titles of the interviewers, and other business/benefit related information that may slow down the process. A candidate who makes good use of these resources will likely apply these skills to his/her new position. And during the interview, you will have more time to discuss important topics, like how he/she can help your business generate more revenue.

 

Let the hiring manager do the recruiting. HR representatives are obviously valuable hiring resources, but do they really understand the skill set and experience required to be successful in other departments? Allow your managers and team members to serve as recruiters for the open positions in their departments. Let them make first contact with the candidate and lead him/her through your corporate hiring process. The candidate will see, first hand, that your employees are as important a function to your business as its sales.

Include the department in the interview process. Your current staff members can provide the candidate a realistic account of a “day in the life” of one of your employees, while they also have the opportunity to screen the candidate to determine if he/she will fit in well with the group. Allow one of your employees to conduct a product demonstration or include the candidate in a project meeting and let him/her contribute his/her opinions. Keep the session easy and casual, but make sure the staff members you involve in this process are prepared to ask questions and report back to you.

 

Recruit and hire professionals who meet your needs. Don’t simply hire those who come along. Seek out the candidates who are best suited for your industry and organization. Pursue the best recruits from a talent pool that includes candidates who may not be actively looking, but are available. Employers who invest in identifying, attracting and hiring the staff members they really want will ultimately save time and money.

Perform thorough reference checks. Allow hiring mangers to perform legal but detailed reference checks with multiple sources. One critical question that should always be included: “If Mr. Doe was available to work on your team again, would you welcome him back?” The respondent’s answer and, more importantly, the way he/she answers will say a lot about the candidate’s potential.

 

Expedite your decision and the offer. The longer you take to make a decision about a candidate, the less likely you are to hire him/her. While the interview process may take time, reassure your top candidates that they rank high on your list of finalists and provide them a realistic schedule within which you will make an offer.