Recruiters must avoid these 7 common hiring mistakes at all costs

The mistake of hiring a wrong candidate is worse than not finding one at all. A recruitment agency’s talent acquisition strategies have time and again pointed out how not to take a swift call when hiring someone.

As per the US Department of Labour, the cost of making a bad hiring decision can be as much as 30% of an employee’s annual salary. So for instance, if an employee makes $80,000 per year, that’s a whopping $24,000 in lost expenses. An ace recruiter’s major hiring ability lies in the fact that he/she will not be making a decision regarding a candidate too quickly.

There is never a successful talent acquisition strategy. Nevertheless, by knowing what causes certain problems and what obstacles one might face during the recruitment phase, you can at least rise up to stay away from them.

If a recruiter looks out for some common pitfalls, they can easily end up attracting top candidates for their organization or the particular company/client they’re hiring for. In this article, Recruit CRM is thereby helping you explore 7 such common mistakes that recruiters should avoid making at all costs.

Avoid these 7 hiring mistakes & get the right candidate real quick

Often at times, your hiring manager is calling you up asking you to get that seat filled as soon as possible, your coworkers are listening to his/her constant nagging and are almost at breaking point and this is exactly when you will end up making a rushed decision.

This will make you work in the same job role in a few months’ time again since the previous employee would turn out to be a misfit for your client. So what do you do? You avoid the following mistakes.

1. Failing to craft an accurate job description

Imagine working hard on every marketing aspect of your hiring plan and failing to create a proper job description, the main material that is supposed to attract candidates to you!

A clear, concise, and structured job description will outline the work that the candidate is supposed to do, rather than the worker. Therefore, plan a meeting with your coworkers and hiring manager and draft a proper job description that’s a perfect fit for the role that you’re looking for.

When you’re writing a job description, make sure that you don’t end up overselling or underselling the position. Don’t imply that there’s a likelihood of a job promotion when there isn’t or don’t hastily forget to point out the flexibility that it offers.

2. Making an unconscious bias

A recruitment agency’s talent acquisition strategies rely mostly upon a recruiter’s decision-making abilities. If you, by mistake, discriminate against certain candidates or favor people who share your same religion, social class, gender, ethnicity, or age, you’re ending up doing an unconscious bias.

Perceived discrimination can affect a candidate’s future performance, commitment, job tension, and so on. An ace recruiter would never make the crucial mistake of committing accidental discrimination.

If a team member does feel you have discriminated against a prospective candidate, even unwittingly, it could impact you in varied ways. Make sure that you understand the discrimination laws that apply in the country where you’re currently working & that you understand your rights and responsibilities.

Learn to accept a candidate regardless of the background they’re coming from. This will help you attract a wide and diverse pool of candidates for a specific job role making it immensely beneficial for your client and agency.

3. Hiring less qualified & rejecting overqualified candidates

American entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki in an NYT interview had once mentioned:

“‘A’ players hire ‘A+’ players, but others hire below their skills to make themselves look good. So, ‘B’ players hire ‘C’ players & ‘C’ players end up hiring ‘D’ players.”

Some recruiters or hiring managers commit the mistake of hiring someone who is much more confident and qualified than they are since they feel that they can be a threat to their position.

If this is the case then Guy Kawasaki’s words would indeed come true for your company. You will end up following a never-ending cycle where your hiring decisions would keep on being worse affecting your company’s long-term goals.

Smart recruiters understand that they indeed need new talented and bright candidates who can bring strength to the team. Hiring people who are better than you can in turn help you hone your own skills, making you a better person.

Sometimes, recruiters also commit the mistake of rejecting an overqualified candidate often because of the same reason.

They worry that these candidates might become bored with their job or might be too good for the role. However, it’s important to note that these are the candidates that actually make work a fun challenge helping not just themselves but others surrounding them to give their best for the organization.

4. Rushing the recruitment process

You might go through a hard time finding that perfect fit for the job role. This doesn’t mean that you will rush to hire just anyone without considering the repercussions that this might have.

Think about the money that re-hiring for that same job role might cause or how much time and resources are you going to waste in terms of training him/her. If you rush the hiring process you might end up repeating the same process time and again.

If a grave situation arises, interview twice if you have to or get in touch with an external contractor who will cover for the job unless you find the right hire.

5. Blocking technology

If you ask any recruiter, they would probably answer the same thing that we’re going to write below.

There’s a better way to source the right candidates and maintain a mountain of CVs. You do this with the help of one of the best Applicant Tracking Systems. Using an applicant tracking system would not only help you cast a wide net to bring in the right candidates with the correct work experience and relevant qualifications but also help you screen and save time efficiently.

Learn more about why your company is in urgent need of an Applicant Tracking System here.

Blocking and resisting technology would just make you a prehistoric recruiter when all you have to do is keep up with this generation.

6. Failing to check references or relying too much on the resume

Are these recruiters really just like they seem? The references that they have provided might look just the best on paper but recruiters should take that extra step to check them.

Sometimes candidates might not even have the proper skillset to sell themselves via their resume but may have the talent to do the job. A successful recruiter must be able to manage the fine line between failing to check these references that the candidates are providing them or even relying strongly on them.

Smart and pro-recruiters will always do a thorough pre-employment background check and not make the mistake of hiring someone whom the company can’t trust.

According to a survey, almost 60% of recruiters have always found a candidate lying something or the other in their resume.

Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that recruiters will be putting all their trust and energy into references, good or bad. Someone’s negative experience in one organization can turn out to be positive someplace else.

7. Not even considering internal recruitment

Instead of wasting time and energy into understanding trending talent acquisition strategies to hunt down that perfect candidate, what if he/she is sitting right under your nose?

You must be well aware of how beneficial internal hiring can be for a company in terms of cutting down excess costs, advertising expenses, interview scheduling, background checks, and so on.

An existing staff member is already well aware of your company’s policies. Promoting and training these potential internal candidates can boost their morale and productivity levels making them a preferable choice.

Hiring new staff for your clients can be a tiring and time-consuming process but what’s more significant is to get it right.

To ensure that you’re not facing continual turnover, you need to keep the above points in mind. Don’t forget to let us know in the comment section below about your uber-successful talent acquisition strategies as well!

Check out how to avoid more hiring mistakes with Donna Levan. Watch her actionable tips here:

The Recruitment Scoop: Episode 8 ft. Donna Levan (Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist)