Recruiting new employees is a demanding process that requires careful consideration and preparation. In order to avoid making the wrong hire and having to repeat the process, you should avoid common hiring pitfalls.
Common Hiring Mistakes to Avoid
Setting Unrealistic Expectations
When conducting interviews, you shouldn’t compare candidates to an ideal version of an employee who exists solely in your imagination. Try to be as realistic and flexible as possible. Otherwise, you risk stretching out the hiring process for too long searching for a unicorn. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have certain standards and criteria, only that they need to be realistic.
HiringThing Pro Tip: Make a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves. This can help you set realistic expectations for a role.
Disregarding Internal Hires
If you've been making stellar hires, then you should have an organization already brimming with talents who are passionate about your mission. Why not mine that talent for future roles? Too often, organizations look for the next "star" or "disruptor" rather than leaning on the expertise already on hand. Not only is disregarding internal hiring missing out on great talent, but it can also demoralize your workforce, sending the message that there's no room for advancement in your organization.
HiringThing Pro Tip: Regularly ask your employees about their career goals and job satisfaction. A conversation you have with an ambitious employee may even uncover a great role you'd never thought about!
Forgetting to Check References
Skimming over references and not checking them is another mistake that can cost you dearly. Almost anyone can seem perfect on paper while being far from even meeting the necessary requirements. Therefore, in order to avoid being misled, you should take some time to check the references of your top candidates and obtain some valuable information from their former employers.
Not Utilizing Social Media
Social media have become an important part of the hiring process, so you shouldn’t ignore their importance. You can find out a lot about a person by taking a look at their profile on social networks. According to the estimates, 92 percent of recruiters use social media when hiring new candidates, which indicates what an important recruiting tool social media have become.
HiringThing Pro Tip: Social media is also a great place to tell stories about your successful employees and elevate your employer brand.
Not Updating Job Postings Between Hires
Finding the perfect candidate depends on how clearly you have defined what you’re looking for. Business websites should be appealing, user-friendly, as well as regularly maintained. This is especially crucial for their job sections which need to be up-to-date at all times. Therefore, don’t forget to update the job section and to provide enough detailed information about the position you’ve just opened. If you’re creating recruitment videos then make sure to show the company culture as well as all the important information on the job itself.
HiringThing Pro Tip: Updating not only job postings, but career pages, the company mission, and the company story should be regular parts of your workflow. You don't want candidates stumbling upon clearly outdated information.
Learn From Your Mistakes
While we all intend to avoid mistakes, they happen. The best advice we could give you is to continually audit and reflect on your hiring process. Mistakes are only mistakes when no one learns from them.
About HiringThing
Approachable and adaptable, the HiringThing platform empowers everyone, everywhere, to hire their dream team. Try HiringThing’s easy-to-use, feature-rich applicant tracking system with a free 14-day trial today!
