The Most Costly Mistakes Companies Must Avoid During the Hiring Process

The hiring process is an important component of creating and maintaining a productive workforce.

Unfortunately, by not thoughtfully considering every piece of your process, you can move too fast, too slow, assume too much about the candidate, or be working with the wrong person altogether. Here are the most costly mistakes companies must avoid during the hiring process. 

‍

Failing to authentically lay out the position in the job description

Giving vague or not enough information about the position attracts unqualified or uninterested people to your job description. This puts your hiring efforts on the wrong road from the beginning. 

Take time to craft a thorough, accurate description of the position. Include the skills needed to thrive, the primary and secondary responsibilities, and who the role interacts with on a daily basis. Also add information about your company’s culture so candidates can begin to understand whether they fit into it. The more clearly and specifically you can be with your job description, the better you will alleviate candidate questions or hesitations. 

Even if you don’t have as many respondents for these new, complete job descriptions, you’ll see that a larger percentage of them will be viable options. 

‍

Not working with a staffing firm

Handling your hiring in-house can overwhelm even the most diligent multi-tasking Hiring Manager. A staffing firm takes many of the facets of hiring off your plate. 

A professional staffing firm acts as an extension of your company and finds candidates that fit your open roles. They do the initial vetting and interviewing, and “weed out” those who aren’t serious or are unqualified. This cuts down on your time to hire. They’re also privy to many passive candidates, which are those who aren’t actively searching for a new job but who would be interested if the right one came along. 

Working with a professional staffing company results in finding higher quality candidates faster than you could attract them on your own. 

‍

Using old-school interview techniques

In the past few years, certain questions that were once acceptable during job interviews have fallen out of favor. Questions like “how much money do you make” can be used to hire with bias. For example, if a woman and man answer the question, the woman is likely to make less than the man. This question could result in the woman being offered less for the same role.

Upgrade your hiring questions to increase your company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. You’re likely to find and keep better candidates this way, and build a positive company culture as a bonus.

‍

Moving too slowly

Employers who think they have unlimited time to decide between the top candidates may miss out on their number one choice. With unemployment rates historically low, there’s a chance your top candidates are entertaining at least one other offer. 

While you don’t want to jump before you’re sure, it benefits you to decrease your interview and decision times. Instead of a week between interviews, why not cut it to two days? 

Dragging out the hiring process makes it more likely that you’ll lose out on your top candidates and end up with an employee that isn’t a good fit. You’ll also see your time to fill positions dragging out. 

‍

Believing everything on the candidate’s resume

Seeing a resume from your perfect candidate is exciting! Until, that is, you realize they lied about their degree or inflated their work experience. 

Some people looking for jobs may be exaggerating or flat out lying on their resumes to land the positions they want. Employers who fail to catch these misrepresentations may end up with an employee who can’t perform the position they were hired to do. 

Vet your top candidates’ education, skill sets and employment claims to reduce the risk of hiring an unqualified person to fill your open role. Being diligent on the front end may save you headaches down the road.

‍

Omitting discussions about your company culture

One of the biggest reasons new hires don’t work out is because they don’t fit into the company’s culture. If you’re only talking about the tasks, projects, and goals of the position, you could find someone who aces those things but still doesn’t perform well. 

Start showcasing and describing the company culture as early in the hiring process as possible This helps attract and hire candidates with staying power. 

‍

Finding the right people to fill your open roles is an elemental part of keeping your company relevant and thriving. Avoid the hiring process mistakes we talked about today, and you’ll find higher-quality candidates that fit your roles and your company culture. 

‍

Do you need help finding and hiring top-tier job candidates? Talent Experts has a long list of talented, experienced professionals ready to step into a new position. Partner with us to find your next perfect new hire!

‍