Seven Common Hiring Mistakes to Avoid

When the hiring landscape becomes competitive, employers must tighten up their approach. Many hiring managers and entrepreneurs have their work cut out for them. Check out our list below to see if you need to stop committing one or more of these common hiring mistakes.

Hiring Mistake #7: Failure to See Onboarding as Recruiting
Yes, onboarding is a part of the hiring process. Too often, managers focus on the resumes and interviews and forget that success depends on the new hire’s first day. At the very least your new hire needs to know what makes your company great, meet everyone (or everyone in the department), and be involved in creating a plan that highlights what will make them successful.

Hiring Mistake #6: One and Done Interviewing
This sin is more often than not committed by small business owners and entrepreneurs. They find someone they like — usually because they are similar to themselves — and hire them on “gut feel”. This often works in the short term, but typically does not turn into a long term healthy employment relationship.

Hiring Mistake #5: Blinded by a Bright Resume
The pressure for hiring managers to hire someone who can produce immediately is constantly increasing. A shiny resume drips with experience, skills, and the right education. So they may be willing to overlook character flaws and obvious warning signs that the candidate will not fit their specific work environment. This often occurs in conjunction with #6. Remember to hire for attitude and character; you can develop technical skills.

Hiring Mistake #4: Searching For . . . Who Knows What?
Vague, non-descript job descriptions plague companies across this great land. Make it clear what success on the job looks like and define what the person is supposed to do. Then list character traits and values that a successful person should possess in this position. Finally, define what experiences are required, which are preferred and which ones would be icing on the cake. Dream a bit; create the ideal employee — on paper at least. This will help your ideal candidate find you through self-selection.

Hiring Mistake #3: The Little Net
A posting on your company site, Craigslist or an email to your network isn’t going to reach enough people and generate the leads you need. Utilize sites like ohiomeansjobs.com; it’s a good free site. Or pay a little and post on Careerbuilder or LinkedIn. Create an employee referral plan and honor it.

Hiring Mistake #2: Not Using a Process 
Do you know what questions your administrative person asks during the initial phone screen? Or what other questions interviewers are asking the candidates? How many questions are being repeated? Why does one manager get great people and another manager churn through people left and right? NO PLAN. Create a plan, any plan and stick to it and require everyone who hires to use it and if they don’t fire them.

Hiring Mistake #1: Not Hiring with Heart
Finally, the biggest mistake. What’s the mission? What’s the vision? What are your guiding principles? How well do you or your company live them? This makes up the heart of your company. Hire people whose heart beats the same as the company’s heart.

If you are truly going to hire for attitude and values how can you if you don’t write about what that is in the job posting? How can you hire for attitude and values if the people in your company doing the hiring don’t even know what they are?

The question is, why should anyone work for your company? If the answer is a paycheck and some fringe benefits, then you will get people who clock in and clock out and drone along throughout the week. But, if you can inspire someone with what makes your company fantastic then you will start to get the talent your company sorely needs to thrive.

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