In any hiring situation, there are a number of stakeholders. You’re getting input left and right about which candidate would be best. Getting caught in that whirlwind can be confusing and make it difficult to find the right person. As you navigate that storm, here are a few things to watch out for:
1: Biased Ideas About Requirements
It can be hard to separate ourselves from the role in question. We may end up looking for someone exactly like us or thinking only about what we need from that person, rather than what the company needs them to do. If your team is looking at candidates subjectively, you could end up with someone who fits their requirements – but isn’t truly right for the position. In this case, it’s actually helpful to have a number of stakeholders providing different viewpoints before arriving at a conclusion.
2: Using Tools Incorrectly
A wrench isn’t terribly effective when you don’t hold it by the handle. Hiring tools also need to be used properly to be of any assistance. Your team can be stuck in their ways, skeptical, or simply misinformed. Whatever the reasons, the result is that your assessment tools get used incorrectly. In doing so, your team may push to hire someone on inaccurate information. For example, using a personality assessment as a chopping block can eliminate your best candidates before interviewing. That’s why the best assessment tools include interview questions and other methods for learning more about the results. Make sure everyone understands the value of the tool and is properly trained on how to use it. It can be helpful to chat with your vendor, to see if they can take some work off your hands and ensure there’s no misunderstandings within your team about how to use the tool.
3: Selective Listening in the Interview Process
It’s not uncommon to only hear what we want to hear. In the hiring process, if you make a personal connection with someone or they look great on paper, you may want them to move forward even when other signs indicate they shouldn’t. When this happens, we perk up on the positives and completely disregard the negatives. They say love makes you deaf, dumb, and blind – and if we fall in love with a candidate, it works the same way. To keep your team from selective listening, play devil’s advocate. Make detailed notes in the interview process and thoroughly review them afterwards. You may even want to record your interviews and listen to them after the fact. This way, you’re double-checking that you’re not missing anything that could come back to bite you.
At the end of the day, your team is made up of people and people aren’t perfect. However, it’s important to recognize that mistakes can also be mitigated by keeping an eye out for issues. Pay attention to these common pitfalls as you go through the hiring process, and you might just notice a boost in your hiring efficiency.