10 recruiters mistakes

In the post-COVID reality, when we observe 'employers job market', recruiters have challenging tasks to undertake.

With a huge number of applications received for every vacancy, they still need to make sure they select the right candidates.

Every recruitment mistake can cost the organisation a lot of money and wasted time. Therefore it is worth to do the job properly without cutting corners and avoid the most common mistakes. 

You can find below ten common recruiters mistakes.

1.   Not asking the right interview questions

A job interview is not a chatty-chat meeting but it has a specific goal - to test how well the candidate will do the job we are recruiting for.

Hence, it is crucial to take time and prepare detailed interview questions related to the position. Not preparing questions in advance also makes it much harder to establish a level playing field for multiple interviewees and avoid bias.

2.   Not recruiting for a cultural fit

Whilst every hire manager wants to have various personalities in their team so people can contribute better (see Belbin Team Role theory ) it is vital that the candidate shares the same ethics and values as the rest of the team and be consistent with the company's mission. 

3.   Relying solely on an interview

A conversation with the candidate, even well-structured should not be treated as the only tool in the recruitment process.

After all, according to a study done by the Chally Group, an interview only increases the chance of finding the best candidate by 2%.  

The same as solely CV analyses cannot give us the information on how good the candidate is. After all, and this what Dean Da Costa stressed out in one of the podcasts, the information put down on a candidate's resume, even genuine, will only let us know how long the person stayed in the job.

When I acted as the Hiring Manager I always checked a candidate's references and test their knowledge with a practical test. It was a very efficient, inexpensive method, especially whilst recruiting engineers and other technical staff.

Additionally, we also offered a candidate a probe day at the company supervised by Department Manager so both parties could meet better and decide do they want to collaborate in the future. 

After all, some companies rely also on detailed designed 'assessment centres' or dedicated recruitment software, games or psychological tests. In the present days, technology supports recruiters very efficiently. 

Besides that, recruiters also screen the candidate's social media profiles. Although, when a LinkedIn portal is treated as a purely professional source, Facebook and Instagram are used for personal use. Hence, it is recommended to go a candidate's FB and Instagram profile only following the interview to avoid bias in the recruitment process. 

4.   Not checking references

Here in the United Kingdom references check is a regular practice during the recruitment process. However, not everywhere such screening is used by HR teams.

For instance, in Poland, hiring managers rely mostly on a written certificate of employment provided by the candidate's previous employer. Nonetheless, such a document does not include the employer's comments about the candidate's achievements or their character, skills and work ethic. That is why I phone the referee and have a quick chat about the candidate. 

5.   Automatically rejecting overqualified candidates

Some recruiters wrongly assume that candidates who exceed the required experience will not match the person specification. 

But the advantages of taking on someone with more experience and extra skills can often outweigh any possible downsides. If the candidate is sincerely interested in the offered position it should not stop us to use the opportunity and use their expertise and bring such an asset to our organisation.

6.   Recycling job descriptions and person specifications

You might tempt to re-use job description of the employee leaving the organisation as it seems to save your time but in the reality, it does not work as simple as it might look like.

The role changes over time and some person's duties or desired skills might be already out of date or not relevant to the new position at all.

Hence, it is highly recommended to create a completely new profile or at least review the old one and in order to attract the candidates having the right experience and set of skills. 

7.   Missing the opportunity to sell your organisation

In the time of recession, where there are more job seekers then vacancies, we might assume that actually anybody would be interested to work for our organisation and we do not need to take any effort trying to 'sell' our company to the candidate.

In reality, currently, it is even harder to employ the best talents, especially in niche sectors, who are being instantly headhunted by the top market players. That is why we should use every opportunity such a job interview to promote our company and its values. 

8.   Waiting for the perfect candidate

Like in love there is no such thing as a 'perfect candidate' who will tick out all our boxes and full fill all employer's expectations. 

Perfect candidates are so rare that it is usually best to go for someone who meets all of the key requirements and can be trained in the “would-like-to-haves”. 

Training up a candidate builds loyalty and productivity, and they might have other qualities that could come in useful in the future. 

Additionally, leaving the role open risks drops in productivity and damaging the morale of other team's members who might struggle to cover the responsibilities.

9.   Asking ‘illegal’ interview questions

When interview candidates you need to be careful with asking some personal questions. What we might find as 'ice-breaking questions', in some countries might be treated as an illegal practice.

For example, in Poland, it is unlawful to ask the candidate about their family situation or beliefs while in the UK employers are obligated to ask detailed questions to avoid bias during recruitment. 

10.   Mishandling rejections and not supplying feedback

The most common mistake made by recruiters and what is regularly brought up by frustrated candidates is the lack of communication with the candidate following the interview.

And this is not only about keeping the good style and showing respect to the rejected candidate. Providing constructive feedback helps us to build a good reputation of our organisation in the market.

After all, like in sales the answer: 'No, thank you' is always better than silence. At least, you will give the candidate an opportunity to find another job offer with somebody else. 

Joanna Tucholska Bio: A freelance Recruiter and a Business Development Manager. Gained a master degree in Law and Administration and a diploma in Human Resources Management. Qualified Recruiter Consultant (Advanced Diploma in Recruitment, Level 5). She has over 20 years of work experience within HR, recruitment and project management. Joanna specialises in the recruitment of IT specialists and engineers and represents her clients - HR consulting agencies on foreign markets. A fluent speaker of English and Polish. Thanks to her high 'people skills' Joanna knows how to communicate efficiently with clients and candidates from different cultures. She believes in human relationships and values good customer services. An analytical and customer-oriented person with a 'can-do' approach.