Mistakes Hiring Managers Make!! How To Avoid Them…

The hiring manager is under a great amount of pressure to hire the right candidate. His or her decision directly reflects their abilities to run an organization and a bad hire will greatly impact their reputation within the organization. Candidates on the other hand can simply, continue interviewing and find the right opportunity for your specific skills and situation. If a hiring manager makes a mistake and hires the wrong person the effect could be career ending.

If you are hiring your first or 1000th employee there are a number of basic steps every manager should follow to avoid making a mistake and hiring the wrong employee.

1. The Resume
The resume introduces a candidate’s experience and career history to you. It is a necessary document that allows a candidate to introduce themselves to you as an employer. Do not rely simply on the resume to understand a candidate’s skills, experience and accomplishments.

Use the resume as a guide to learn about the candidate. Talking with them on the phone or an in person interview allows you as an employer to gain a full understanding of the individual. Ask questions; learn about a candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments in detail. Have them explain what they did, how they accomplished tasks, worked with others, etc. You can challenge candidates and see how they respond to questions under pressure, as well.

2. Always Check A Candidates References..
One of the most critical mistakes a hiring manager can make is to fail to check candidate’s references. This is of prime importance before hiring any candidate; gaining a outside view point from another as to a candidates experience, skills and reliability will give you as a hiring manager a rounded picture of the candidate; from someone who has worked with them in the past.

References should always be from past employers, candidate’s superiors or business associates that has direct experience working with the individual. On average you should check a minimum of 3 references for each candidate. Additionally, many industries are well connected and a hiring manager may want to check with colleagues or friends from other organizations that they may have in common with the candidate for an additional perspective.

3. Do you Know What Position You Are Hiring For??
A hiring manager needs to know specifically what position they are interviewing for and have a clear understanding of the skills they are seeking. Many times hiring manager’s interview candidates before they even know what skills they are seeking. This leaves a candidate confused as to the position advertised and the interview process within the organization. A candidate may be exceptionally skilled for the position that was advertised, but then finds out in the interview the employer is not sure what they are seeking for the position. This leaves a candidate with an ill faded view of the company and wastes precious time for both the interviewer and candidate.

You, as a hiring manager must fully understand your needs, the position responsibilities, skills required and be able to fully explain the position to a candidate during the interview process. Providing a candidate with as much information as possible will go a long way in making sure you hire the correct individual for the opportunity and assure their expectations are in line with the company goals.

4. Skills Testing?? What’s That…
What’s a skills test? Many employers are asking that same question, but human resource professionals have been using them for years in assessing a candidates skills and the potential fit within a corporate culture.

Utilizing testing for skills assessment can be as simple as a typing test to as complex as an engineering design; that will allow you assess candidates abilities in specific areas that they will be required to accomplish in their daily routines. Employers can additionally expand on the skills testing and incorporate in corporate culture testing to see how a candidate may fit into the overall corporate culture, based on their personally traits, matched against all the other employees of the firm.

With advances of internet technology and cloud based software; these testing processes are now much more affordable and easily accessible by any employer seeking to utilize them as a tool within the scope of overall hiring.

If a hiring manager practices the above tips and assure they check the details when they hire an new employee, your next hire will be a great success.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com). To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com