Common hiring mistakes - part 1

With enough time spent in recruitment and hiring, it’s inevitable to come across the common missteps hiring companies will make, time and time again.

With this in mind, we thought we would save you some time and energy from potentially making those same ones yourself with a series on common hiring mistakes – so that you can get on with what you do best, and get your new hire in with ease for both parties.

Here are the common hiring mistakes we see (part 1).

ONE: Not having the role signed off on before you start the search process

There is not a lot worse than someone taking the time to find a candidate, even having a conversation with them, only to be told there’s no budget for that. Whether it’s an in-house search, you’ve engaged a recruiter, or it’s the candidate themselves – there’s no perspective where this feels like an ideal situation.

Many workplaces will say they are “testing the market” to gauge who is out there, what the going salary is, and interest in a role. The issue with doing this before the role is officially ‘a go’ is it can result in wasted time for a candidate who might have put in a lot of effort to their application, a recruiter who spend time and resources seeking candidates out, or even an in-house team who, similarly, spent valuable time on something that needn’t have taken so much.

The solution when testing the market? Speak to a recruiter. They know the market, so the conversation would be largely brief in comparison to the energy spent otherwise, and you’ll come away with a clear idea without risking burning any relationships with recruiters or potential candidates either.

TWO: Being either too specific or too vague in your job descriptions

This one is fractionally trickier. Write a job post or description that’s too vague, and you completely miss your audience. Write one that’s too specific, and you close yourself off to amazing candidates who would be a great fit if you just had a little flexibility.

It’s important to be clear on the role itself. If you’re not, how do you hit it? This helps to also give more clarity around the scope of the role, so you can calculate remuneration as accurately as possible, which in turn attracts the candidates that match.

At the same time, flexibility helps you adapt to the market more readily, and keeps your expectations in experience versus what you’re willing to pay realistic. This all will help you get that role filled with a great candidate who may not be the specific, ‘purple unicorn’ you’ve been looking for (who may ultimately not exist) but who is a great addition and fills that space in a way that ensures both sides of the hiring agreement are valued. Your recruiter will be able to give you guidance on just how to balance that flexibility in with the specificity the role requires in order for you to best meet your hiring goals.

THREE: Having a poor EVP (employer value proposition)

Put simply, why should someone want to come work for your organisation? This part goes beyond the ‘status’ someone might get by being able to put your company on their list of employment. It becomes more about conveying what is in it for the candidate. How do you treat your people? How sustainable is the organisation? How focused are you on the mental and emotional health of your people?

Having this clear in your EVP is absolutely critical to have in order to attract and secure talent. It’s a proposition you include in the job description that shows that not only do you want to attract talent, but you also value retaining employees who are happy and feel valued in turn. Without one, particularly with such a skills shortage across many sectors, you’re not doing your business any favours.

We’ve got another two parts on this topic coming in subsequent weeks!

We also have a whole podcast episode on this topic. Have a listen here.