What employers should do when hiring a new recruit is a topic that has been covered many times, but what is it that you should avoid doing when hiring?
Here we share four mistakes employers often make during the recruitment process and show you how you can avoid making the same errors.
1. Don’t skip defining the job role.
Having a detailed job description is one of the key steps in hiring right however it is often poorly done. A good job description should detail the position’s primary purpose, major responsibilities, contribution to the business and required qualifications and characteristics, in addition to important working relationships.
All of these details will help when recruiting for a role, as you are precisely aware of the skills and qualifications you need to look for in a candidate. Done well, a job description produces real business results by ensuring that everyday work carried out by staff contributes to business goals and sets employee expectations by demonstrating exactly what the employee is expected to achieve on a day-to-day-basis.
2. Don’t ignore your current employees.
Often when recruiting for a vacant position, employers fail to recognise potential already within their business. This is a common error where the employer does not advertise the vacancy to the existing employees.
Acknowledging your current employees can actually help recruitment efforts as in some cases, the best suited employee might already be in the business. By not doing any internal advertising, employers waste time and resources interviewing new candidates when a perfect match may already be working within the business.
3. Don’t hire people who are just like you.
A risk many employers have is hiring candidates who have familiar backgrounds or personality traits to their own. Although this kind of hiring may lead to a good cultural fit, employers are potentially missing out on candidates who can bring diversity into the business.
Often people who have not followed a traditional path are the ones that can bring the most vitality to a workplace. Especially in small business, people with a mixed skill set who can do a lot of different roles, can also bring a breadth of skills and experience. When reviewing resumes, keep an open mind and focus on the work experience of the candidate instead of looking for a similar background – always look for potential.
4. Don’t offer the job after just one interview.
It’s very easy to fall into the trap of liking a candidate too quickly and offering them the job after only one interview. This is not an ideal scenario since there has been insufficient time to analyse if the candidate really has the correct skills for the role.
We especially find this the case in junior or administrative based positions which may seem ‘easy to fill’ to the interviewer, however this behaviour can sometimes extend to more senior roles. So how many interviews should be conducted then?
Generally, two or three face-to-face interviews, in addition to at least a brief telephone screen is the correct amount for most roles. Senior roles or roles where a number of stakeholders’ opinions are important will naturally lead to a requirement for more interviews. In the hiring of junior staff, we still recommend a minimum of two interviews as a way of ‘double checking’ your initial analysis and opinion on the candidate.
About the Author
Paula Maidens is Managing Director of Recruitment Coach,a unique HR coaching and consulting firm for small-medium businesses.
