Top 10 Recruitment Mistakes

In order to locate suitable employees, you must focus on the particular characteristics and skills you are looking for. You also need to establish a plan in order to find the most suitable candidate. Unfortunately, many companies repeat the same mistakes over and over again when it comes to recruiting. This ends up costing them a significant amount of time and money.

Here are the top 10 recruiting mistakes you should learn to avoid:

1. Seeking An Exact Duplicate – Many recruiters limit their search to finding an individual who has completed the exact same job in the same industry for a very similar company. The problem is that you may end up forgoing potential progress, creative ideas and innovation. Generally speaking, past behaviour provides an effective indicator of future behaviour when circumstances remain the same. As we all know, the business world is constantly changing and evolving so you may be better off choosing experienced candidates who can offer your company a new perspective.

2. Failing to explain the process – You should advise potential candidates of the interview procedures. If you plan on interviewing them three times during a one-month period, be sure to let them all know. You should also provide them with an estimated date for completion of the interviewing process. If you fail to do so, the reputation of your business may suffer.

3. Hiring an expensive external recruiter – Although many larger companies have the money to hire a professional recruiter, this is usually not the case for small businesses. If you run a small business, you should not hire a recruiter who may not even bring you the most suitable candidates.

4. Failing to involve your employees in the process – It is very helpful to advise your existing employees that you are attempting to fill a position. This is particularly true if you work in a small business environment. You can even include certain employees in the interview process; they will feel a greater sense of ownership when a company involves them in some manner. Current employees may also know suitable candidates which could save you a lot of time and expense.

5. Continuously using the same source – Regardless of your source, you have a greater chance of locating suitable candidates when you expand your horizons. If you always rely on a professional recruiter, employment website such as Monster.com or a local newspaper, try a different avenue the next time.

6. Failing to involve managers and other key people in the process – Any managers who will be in charge of an employee should be involved in hiring that individual.

7. Not allotting a specific timeframe – Many companies continue to post help wanted ads month after month. This gives potential candidates the impression that the company is not seriously interested in recruiting new employees. It is better to establish a realistic timeframe for recruiting candidates so you can narrow the options, interview the most suitable candidates and hire the best one!

8. Providing an incomplete job description – If you don’t provide a detailed job description, you will waste a lot of time and money interviewing individuals who are not even qualified for the position. Posting a thorough and accurate job description will help you to narrow down your list of candidates, thus speeding up the process.

9. Focusing only externally – Many of the most suitable candidates are already working at your company. If you consistently overlook any internal employees, you not only risk missing a suitable candidate, you also lower team spirit and employee morale.

10. Seeking a superhero – Too many job descriptions include an endless list of acceptable traits, degrees, computer skills, background, etc. This often occurs when many individuals are involved in recruiting. Unfortunately, this approach wastes time and normally leaves the position unfilled. If you are recruiting, be sure to establish realistic criteria that can actually be met.