The Worst Recruiting Advice We've Ever Heard--Don't Do This!

The new hire is coming up to his quarterly performance review and it’s obvious he’s not measuring up. The company now has to decide what’s next? Move the employee to a different position, increase efforts to develop him or simply let him go. This common scenario happens every day in intelligent companies all over the world, but what’s the cause for this dilemma? The company’s lackluster star may be a result of some poor hiring advice. Do you know the current hiring myths?

Here’s a list of some of the worst advice we’ve ever heard about recruiting:

Hiring candidates with no experience is good because you get a blank canvas for training.
He’s got no provable experience, but he has potential–or at least you think he does. Someone has to take a chance on newbies, right? Don’t listen to that advice! If you compromise on basic hiring requirements, you’ll always lose.

Hire for the immediate need.
Without a new warehouse manager, production may come to a screeching halt; however, a major software change is scheduled in six months. Do you hire the manager who fits today’s need or the needs of the future? Always hire with the future in mind.

Always hire people who are most like you.
You want harmony in the workplace, right? Then you need a candidate who you can understand and appreciate. Nope. A healthy work culture needs a variety of perspectives and ideas. Diversity is great fertilizer for innovation.

Behavior-based answers during the interview are not as important as theoretical ones.
The potential employee has all the right answers and knows what the procedure is if a negative situation arises. That’s crucial. Or is it? Knowing what to do and having experience, successful experience, addressing difficult situations are two different things. Choose candidates who provide examples of how they’ve handled similar challenges at past jobs.

There’s a minefield of bad advice floating around that can torpedo your ability to conduct a proper candidate assessment–don’t allow these tips to lead you astray. What’s the worst advice you’ve ever received? Tell us in the comments sections.