5 Common Mistakes That Hinder Your Recruitment

Whether you are a manager or an HR professional, you will eventually have to lead a recruitment process. This is inevitable for the proper functioning of your operations. Nowadays, it is increasingly complex to recruit en masse and recruit quality workers. Yet, there are still many mistakes that many people make that hamper their process and prevent goals from being achieved.

So, what are these mistakes that we need to find and correct as soon as possible?

1. An unstructured process

If you are used to succeeding every time at recruiting, that’s great! However, you will soon run out of luck. To recruit strategically and effectively, you need to structure your internal process, whatever it is. Nonetheless, there is no point in rushing. Slow and steady wins the race!

So, it’s true: it is not efficient to rush and skip steps, as going fast will be done at the expense of quality. Ultimately, you will end up with candidates not suited for the job profile. There is also the risk of decreasing the productivity of your teams.

Recommendation: Do yourself a favor and get a professional to help you structure your process with tools that ensure you balance the speed and quality of your recruitment. An infallible instrument; a “flow chart” with detailed steps and tools for each step (job description, posting, pre-selection tools, interview questionnaires, referral form, letter of offer, etc.)

2. An ineffective job posting

Sometimes too long, sometimes too short, this is often the mistake made when it comes to job posting. In a market where the trend is reversed and job seekers have the privilege to choose, it is important to know that they are also intransigent and know precisely what interests them. The job posting should reflect what they are looking for but should also be appealing to them.

Recommendation: Avoid postings longer than 2 pages, be precise. Your posting must be unique, impactful, and above all, reflect the benefits of joining your team. What makes you so different from other companies?

3. Intuitive decision–making

Many are those who recruit following their “gut”; those who need to have a personal, intuitive feeling that they are picking the right candidate. Unfortunately, trusting our instincts is forgetting that we are humans with biases. Without introspection, we help perpetuate behaviours that promote discrimination in our hiring processes.

Recommendation: Have tools that bring you back to your objective selection criteria. Before each decision-making, get used to going over these 3 steps:

• Slow down and take a step back;
• Question yourself, introspect;
• Get the opinion of a diverse selection committee.

4. A process that lasts too long

As mentioned above, we should not rush into our process. However, it is not about stretching it for fun and extending the process for too long. Remember, candidates are no longer waiting for you, they are in demand elsewhere as well.

Recommendation: Identify your more difficult tasks and find solutions to fix them. Often these are the tasks requiring approvals that take time. Develop a habit of anticipating them and remind all stakeholders of the importance of being responsive during the process.

5. Uninvolved employees

One of the determining success factors in recruitment is the proximity effect with a member of the team. Indeed, involved employees lead to referrals. Consequently, this will lead to a larger pool of applications, among which will be a greater number of candidates – the latter in line with the profile of the employees who are our ambassadors.

Recommendation: Why not share your positions internally too? Your employees are your best ambassadors, so don’t be afraid to ask for their help in sharing your posts on social media. Also, remember to reward them for their effort with a referral policy.

So, do you recognize yourself in the statements above? While these mistakes may be unintentional, I am confident that now that you are aware of them, you will make sure to fix them. In an increasingly hectic work environment, I do agree that this might seem easier said than done. However, remember that there is no point in rushing things. Like we said earlier, take it one step at the time!

By Noellie Dias, CRHA
Human Resources Consultant
HR Blog Editor – Iceberg Management