8 Reasons Interviewers Screw Up and Don't Hire the Best Candidate

Job candidates aren't the only people who make mistakes. Interviewers make plenty of mistakes too.

Here are some of the most common, and how you can avoid them:

1. They assume shyness equals inability. Some people just don't interview well. They're nervous or shy and don't make a great impression. An awkward interview does not mean a candidate can't do the job, though. Great communication skills in no way signal broader expertise.

What to do instead: Be patient when candidates seem uncomfortable. Try to help them relax. You're a leader -- your job is to get the best from people, even ones you haven't hired yet.

And if you find yourself in a lot of interviews where candidates are uncomfortable, take a step back and consider your approach. You might be the reason.

2. They expand on possibilities. Candidates sell themselves. Interviewers also often try to sell the candidate on the job. That's understandable, especially when you love your company and without thinking describe things like potential new projects, enhanced employee benefit programs, or opportunities for promotion based on an anticipated expansion.

It's great to be excited about your company, but a job candidate can easily translate "maybe" or "possibly" or "someday" into "guaranteed"... which later resulting in a disgruntled employee who feels promises weren't kept.

What to do instead: If you describe typical career paths, do so only in a general sense. Only share details on approved projects or efforts currently underway. You might be hiring with what you hope to need in mind, but make sure the candidate understands what the job currently entails.

And as a general rule, if you aren't absolutely certain you can deliver, don't bring it up.

3. They decide five or six "okays" equal "awesome!" It's easy to automatically check off mental boxes during an interview: "Experience, OK; qualifications, OK; attention to detail, OK ..." and before you know it decide an average candidate with no real negatives -- and no outstanding qualifications, either -- seems like a great candidate.

What to do instead: Remember that an absence of negatives does not equal a superlative. Look for excellent, not acceptable. Never settle for "good enough."

If good enough is all you can find in the candidates you have interviewed, keep looking.

4. They conduct a surprise group interview. Group interviews are an easy way for a number of interviewers to meet one candidate. That makes group interviews efficient for you, but for the candidate it's stressful and intimidating -- meaning you rarely will see the candidate at his or her best.

Plus it's easy for interviewers to fall into the consensus trap where, during the group debriefing, everyone tends to drift towards having the same opinion.

What to do instead: Use group interviews only if the position requires working predominately within a team. In that case a group interview may provide a solid feel for the candidate's suitability.

When you do conduct group interviews, tell the candidates ahead of time so they can prepare. It's only fair -- to them and to you. Otherwise stick to individual sessions.

5. They stick too closely to a script. You should ask a reasonably standard set of questions (at least for a particular job), but don't get so focused asking your questions that you don't listen to the answers. The best questions (here are four outstanding interview questions) naturally lead to follow-up questions. Since most candidates are prepared for an initial question, questions that drill deeper tend to reveal a lot more -- both positive and negative.

What to do instead: Ask a question and listen closely. Take a moment to think about the answer, then follow up: Ask why. Ask when. Ask how a project turned out. Ask what made a position hard or made a working relationship difficult. Don't be afraid to explore.

Not only will you get past the canned answers, you may also uncover great information the candidate would not have shared.

6. They take over. Some interviewers turn the session into a monologue. When you do that, most candidates are unlikely to interrupt or try to restore some sense of balance to the interview -- after all, they want you to like them. If you get on your soapbox and fail to step off, thirty minutes later the interviewee walks away dazed and your hiring decision is based on whether the candidate was a good listener.

What to do instead: Make sure the candidate has a good feel for the position before the interview. Briefly discuss the company and the position in person. Then start asking questions and start listening.

The conversation should be 90% candidate and 10% you.

7. They don't answer questions.

Every interviewer at some point says, "Do you have any questions for me?" To many that's the throw-away, pro forma section of the interview.

Bad move. The questions you're asked say a lot about the candidate. (Here are five great questions awesome candidates ask.) Never forget that great candidates almost always have options -- and that means they're interviewing you and your company to decide if they want to work for you.

What to do instead: Make sure to answer the candidate's questions with as much thought and honesty as you expect the candidate to answer yours.

You might be surprised by the conversations that follow.

8. They fail to sense-check with others. Everyone has had a great first date that was followed by a so-so second date and a terrible third date... only then to have a friend say, "What did you see in him in the first place? I could have told you about that guy..."

Job candidates also give you their best: They're up, they're engaged, they're on. But how do they act when they are not trying to impress you?

What to do instead: I call this the receptionist test. How candidates act when they're not with you can indicate a lot. So ask: find out how candidates treated the receptionist, what they did while they waited, how they interacted with other employees during the process... occasionally you will spot a disconnect between what the candidate presents and the real person inside.

A jerk in the lobby will almost always be a jerk on the job... and in the meantime, that means you might have failed to hire the candidate who would have been perfect.

I also write for Inc.com:

• 9 Things You Wish Job Candidates Knew
• One Interview Question That Reveals a Superstar Job Candidate
  
• 3 Interview Questions You Must Ask
  
• How to Conduct the Perfect Job Interview
  

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