Top Hiring Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

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Top Hiring Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Katherine Spencer Lee Executive Director
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Mistake 1 Filling desks, not needs

• Analyze what is really needed
• Consider all staffing possibilities for each
  vacancy

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Mistake 2 Failing to recruit constantly

• The best employers continually search for top
  talent
• Keep in touch with candidates, even when youre
  not hiring
• Participate in trade associations
• Collect resumes online

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Mistake 3 Creating poor job descriptions

• The Fantasy Job Ad

Seeking Level-2 help desk professional with 10
years of experience with Cisco, LINUX and Windows
systems. Masters degree and bilingual skills
preferred. Must be willing to work nights and
weekends.
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Mistake 3 Creating poor job descriptions

• The Mystery Job Ad

• Growing firm seeks a level-2 help desk
  professional.
• Must have good technology skills and be willing
  to work
• a flexible schedule.

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Mistake 4 Having no system for screening
resumes

• An effective system includes
• Benchmarks
• Special requirements
• Qualifications/attributes critical to success
• Review resumes all at once
• Avoid procrastinating
• Dont delegate the task

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Mistake 5 Ignoring red flags on resumes

• Note vague terminology such as Participated
  in, familiar with and in association
• Be cautious with functional resumes
• Read resumes beginning at the bottom
• Judge the appearance
• Give the benefit of the doubt

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Mistake 6 Ignoring interview techniques

• Dont wing the interview
• Ask candidates the same number of questions
• Take notes

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Mistake 6 Ignoring interviewing techniques

• More than two-thirds of executives surveyed said
  the most productive time for meeting with
  candidates is between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
• The first candidate interviewed for a job is
  somewhat less likely to be hired than other
  candidates
• Source Robert Half International

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Mistake 6 Ignoring interviewing techniques

• Start the conversation with an easy ice-breaker
  question that illustrates youve done your
  homework.
• Move into challenging questions
• How do you define success?
• Tell me about a time you worked with a difficult
  end-user. How about a difficult manager?
• What kind of work environment do you like least?

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Mistake 7 Doing more talking than listening

• Dont share too much information about your
  company
• Focus on one question at a time
• Avoid drawing conclusions until the end of the
  interview

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Mistake 8 Focusing too heavily on hard skills

• Look for
• Passion - Does the person care about his/her
  work? Does it come through in most answers?
• Optimism - Top performers acknowledge
  difficulties and how they learned from them.
• Work ethic - What has the candidate been doing if
  unemployed? Top performers use the time wisely.
• Expectations - Candidates should be motivated to
  learn and advance, but not have unrealistic
  expectations.

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Mistake 9 Inviting too much input

• You may select the least objectionable candidate
  versus the best one
• Participants in the selection process bring
  different motivations

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Mistake 10 Making rushed decisions

• Never skip any stages of the hiring process
• More likely to make poor matches
• Learn as much as possible about top candidates
  before making a decision

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Mistake 11 Making slow decisions

• Keep the process moving
• Avoid loosing highly skilled candidates to
  competitors
• Inform candidates of where you are in the hiring
  process

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Mistake 12 Persuading reluctant candidates

• Be wary of candidates who are hesitant to accept
  an offer
• Even if they decide to join your company, they
  may not stay long
• Dont rely entirely on past performance when
  identifying superstars

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Mistake 13 Conducting poor reference checks

• Never skip this step
• Remind reluctant references of the importance of
  their feedback
• Take note of the tone of the response
• Let the reference do the talking

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Mistake 13 Conducting poor reference checks

• Talk to supervisors, colleagues and others in the
  organization
• Manage the process yourself

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Top Hiring Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Katherine Spencer Lee Executive Director