The hiring process is time-consuming, costly, and soaks up important resources, but it is a critically important procedure that builds your team, adds important skills to your corporate arsenal, and helps your company achieve greater success. However, today’s hiring market has been squeezing those in charge of hiring. Deadlines are tighter than ever and an open position on your team can spell disaster for a project. Unfortunately, the search for the most qualified employees is littered with some common mistakes. Below are a few common hiring issues and some simple ways to address them.
We need a unicorn.
Unfortunately, there is a tendency to look for “unicorns” in the hiring market. These are people who have a long list of ideal skills and talents who are willing to work for a very specific salary. Unicorn employees, like their namesake, do not really exist—but there are still plenty of great, qualified candidates who can take your company to the next level. Avoid wasting time on the hunt for unicorns by having the immediate supervisor to the open position identify the most needed skills for that job. If this is the first time you are hiring for this position, you may want to contact a recruiter for insights on the position.
Let’s just keep looking…
This hiring mistake is frequently associated with the mistake in #1, the search for the unicorn. Because job applicants are not hitting 100% of the position’s requirements, no one is being hired. This mistake, slow hiring, is extremely costly, as it can keep projects from being completed, result in lost business, and destroy the morale of teams (and may cause some of your best people to start looking for other jobs). You can easily avoid this mistake by prioritizing what you really need for the position. If you see that finding candidates with your prioritized list is challenging, you may want to consider investing in training current employees in needed skill sets.
Sounds good on paper….
While taking too long to hire is a mistake, so is hiring too quickly just to have someone in the open position. It’s easy to fall into the trap of hiring quickly if you desperately need to fill an open position. Typically, when you hire too quickly, you may not be careful in following up with a candidate about their skills or references—and this is a big mistake. Taking the time to ensure that the candidate can do a brief test project or sample assignment can save your company time and money. Checking the references of a candidate is important, especially if that potential employee has not been referred by a current employee.
Just ask them if they can do the job.
Ouch. Of course, every potential applicant might be able to do a job, or even the job, but taking a laid-back approach to the interview is never a good idea. While the interviewer may try to get to know the candidate with statements like “Tell me about yourself”, it pays to ask the right kinds of questions for the job. There are many great questions that target specific skill sets for developers (Forbes has some questions that highlight soft skills), data scientists, IT specialists, and analysts. If your position seems to straddle some of these categories (or fit none of them), the immediate supervisor to the position should develop a few key questions for the candidate to answer.
By avoiding these types of mistakes, you can enhance your hiring process and improve the odds of finding the best candidates for the job. If you would like more information about improving your chances of hiring the most qualified candidates for your open positions, or are interested in partnering with an industry leader in hiring, please contact us today.