Hiring managers are often under a lot of pressure to find the right candidate for a position. This can lead to hiring managers making mistakes during the interview process. In this blog post, we will discuss 5 common mistakes hiring managers make when interviewing candidates. We will provide tips on how to avoid these mistakes and find the best candidate for your organization!
Failure to Prepare
One of the most common mistakes hiring managers make is failing to prepare for interviews. It is important to take the time to review a candidate’s resume and cover letter before meeting with them. This will mean that you can ask questions that reflect it.
Avoid relying on stock standard questions and, instead, draw your attention to the questions that will reflect whether the candidate has the desirable skills and experience.
Failure to prepare will only result in an uninformed decision or missed opportunity.
The solution to this would be to stick to a schedule. Determine the time you will need for each interview and keep to that. This way, you can avoid going overtime or rushing through questions.
Asking the Wrong Questions
When asking questions, you should always find out what exactly you want to get from your candidate. However, asking irrelevant questions will result in the candidate getting confused and you wasting your time. It is all about balance.
As you conduct interviews, write down any questions you wish you’d have asked when it’s over, any new questions you think of throughout the day, be sure to write them down. Get into the routine of adding and deleting questions from your list. Hone it down into a perfected collection of questions that fetch valuable information to help you make a decision on whether to hire that person.
Being Dazzled by The Halo Effect
The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias that leads hiring managers to make judgments about individuals based on their overall impression of them. This can be dangerous, as it often clouds our judgement and we may overlook the candidate’s flaws. This dynamic causes the hiring manager to only focus on the one thing that they liked about the candidate. This could include a range of things, from where they’ve volunteered to what they look like.
To avoid this, hiring managers should ask themselves these three questions: Would I want to work with this person? Do they have the skills and experience to do the job? Would I be comfortable trusting them with important tasks? These questions challenge your ‘first reaction answer’.
Missing Scorecard for Interviews
A scorecard is a tool that hiring managers can use to compare candidates and objectively rate them on the same criteria. This will help to ensure that the best candidate is hired for the job. For example, you may have 7 criteria (sales skills, administration, finance) you then discuss each criterion and mark the candidate 1-5 on each. Examining who has the highest scores in the most important criteria will help you make a shortlist of the most compelling candidates.
When hiring managers don’t have a scorecard for interviews, they often make hiring decisions based on their gut feeling whilst forgetting what the candidate is actually capable of. This can lead to hiring the wrong candidate, as there may be other candidates who are more qualified but were not interviewed. If scorecards aren’t something you’d like to partake in, it is still a good idea to write down the candidate’s answers to your questions to refer back to when making your final decision. The use of scorecards or taking notes also minimizes the risk of being dazzled by the halo effect.
Failure to Follow Up
After conducting an interview, hiring managers should always follow up with the candidate.
Whether that be to update them on where they are In the hiring process or to provide them with feedback, keeping communications open and fluid can benefit both you and the candidate. Not only does it promote a good candidate experience, but it also allows for you to gain experience in talking with a variety of different candidates. You also shouldn’t be afraid to ask for feedback on how they felt the interview went as you can utilize this to enhance the experience of other candidates.
Screening and identifying candidates can be difficult when you have an abundance of options. If you feel you need help in doing so or would like to reach out to find out more about how you can efficiently hire candidates and complete interviews, we’d be happy to help! Whether you need to fill permanent, contract or temporary roles, we are open to conversation!
Check out our website: https://careerconnectionsinc.com/