Avoid 3 common mistakes that may lead to the wrong hire

It’s no surprise that companies that devote more time to developing their hiring processes experience less turnover, a better employment brand, and lower overall hiring expenses. While clients always look for a “secret”, the solution to the hiring challenge is in the time and focus put into the process.

Below are three common hiring blunders and how you can avoid them when hiring for your company:

1. Talking too much about your own Company and not listening to the candidate

During the interview process, listening is the most important thing an employer can do. The more a candidate speaks and communicates, the better chance we have to assess his or her potential fit for the position.

2. Focusing too much on work experience, versus life experience

While some positions absolutely require specific amounts of direct experience, many (maybe even most!) positions require a set of skills that can be translated from other positions and industries. Considering life experiences may be a useful tool in analyzing a candidate’s ability to succeed in a new role and environment. Prior industry or career changes, military experience, and “wild card” type experience doing something unique or offbeat may offer valuable learning experiences that other candidates cannot match.

3. Not calling references and conducting background checks

We cannot emphasize these two points enough, and yet they are often overlooked in the hiring process. Hiring managers gain a wealth of knowledge through reference checking, and it’s not just in what the references tell you. We learn from the type of references a candidate provides, the willingness of the reference to speak with us, and some of the things they do not say in response to our questions.

The candidate most likely has no criminal history or flags in employment and education experience, but EctoHR still reports a flagged issue in nearly 10% of its background checks! Not every issue is worthy of rescinding an employment offer, but it’s much better to know the good, bad and the ugly than to go the route of ignorance!

Call EctoHR, Inc.

EctoHR, Inc. is ready to assist your company with all aspects of HR, including the hiring and background check process. Contact a team member at EctoHR by calling 810.534.0170, or by email to hr@ectohr.com.