Avoid These Hiring Mistakes

As a manager, hiring the right employees should be one of your top priorities. Without the right people on your staff, it's difficult to make a good impression on customers. The wrong hires also cost you money in the form of mistakes or increased turnover. Avoid these common hiring mistakes when interviewing a potential new employee.

1. Failing to Identify Expectations

Before you even place an advertisement, you need to know what you want in a new hire. Are you willing to hire someone who only has a year or two of work experience? Does the employee need to know how to use a certain programming language? If you don't know what you want, you can't possibly craft an effective job description. Before you even think about interviewing anyone, sit down and make a list of all the skills and personality traits your new employee needs to have. Use the list to evaluate and rank candidates before making your final decision. This helps you avoid making serious hiring mistakes.

2. Listening to Your Gut

There's something to be said for gut feelings, but they don't always pay off when it comes to hiring employees. Just because a candidate maintains eye contact during the interview or sends in a well-written resume doesn't mean he is the best person for the job. Instead of going with your gut, use objective criteria to avoid hiring mistakes and identify the best fit for your company.

3. Hiring Family Members and Friends

Often, it's tempting to hire family members and friends because you already have a good idea of their skills and personality quirks. Unfortunately, working with someone you know can be a recipe for disaster, especially if you ever have to discipline the person. Unless you run a family business, try not to hire friends and family members.

4. Asking Bad Interview Questions

You can't find the right employee if you don't ask the right questions. All of your questions should directly relate to the essential functions of the position. Otherwise, you run the risk of asking something that could be construed as discriminatory. Avoid hiring mistakes by asking open-ended questions, which require candidates to give you information about their past employment experiences.

5. Failing to Vet Candidates

After weeks or months of interviews, you've finally identified your top candidate. Are you ready to make an offer? Not yet. Before extending an offer of employment, you need to vet the candidate thoroughly, especially if the job involves working with large sums of money or spending time around children. Conducting reference checks is a good way to avoid hiring mistakes, but only if you do a thorough job. If you can't get in touch with a reference, ask the candidate to furnish contact information for a past supervisor or current colleague. Running a criminal background check is also a good idea, especially if you are in a highly regulated industry.

Turnover costs employers thousands of dollars each year, so you need to focus on hiring the right employees from the start. Avoid hiring mistakes by vetting candidates thoroughly, asking the right questions and checking references before you extend an offer of employment.

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