Recently CIO.com published a list of “11 bad hiring habits that will burn you” which got us thinking about how we source, recruit, and select candidates.
It also got us wondering why there are 11 items on the list instead of 10 or an even dozen. But that’s a topic for another blog post.
Most of the 11 bad hiring habits listed in the article are problems that internal HR departments have, but four of the habits are things we recognize and work to avoid. They are:
Dragging out the process
CIO.com says that IT pros have long bemoaned the time it takes to hear back from prospective employers — and the long wait to get an offer. They quote an IT recruiter who says things start heading south when your interview process takes too long.
The recruiter says candidates get soured on the company and assume it’s not well run in general, and there’s also the risk of losing candidates to other offers.
Our recruiters and account execs know the dangers of a drawn-out process and work to keep everything moving along. As a client says, “LRS responds in the appropriate amount of time and provides qualified resources.”
Radio silence
According to CIO.com, “The asymmetrical nature of the employer and soon-to-be employed by its nature can leave a candidate feeling uninformed and anxious.”
We hate to cause anxiety for anyone, which is why our account executives and recruiters make it part of their job to keep in touch. If you’re a hiring manager who has asked us to find staff, we keep you posted on our progress. If you’re a candidate being considered for an engagement, we communicate what we’re hearing from the client. Part of our communication with hiring managers, in fact, is a request for quick feedback on our candidates so we can tell them where they stand.
As one of our consultants said, “My recruiter answers all my questions very quickly and understands concerns when I have them.”
Job descriptions that shoot for the moon
Hiring experts say they frequently see job descriptions and requirements have little bearing on reality. This frequent mistake — classic overreach — can put off qualified candidates or lead to a bad fit.
Because our goal is to always find the best fit of client, consultant, and engagement, we work closely with the client to understand their needs. We make sure we know which skills are required and which are nice to have, so that there’s no misunderstanding.
Our work pays off for everyone. As one of our consultants said, “LRS did a great job in placing me with a professional company that treated me very well as a consultant. LRS also tried their best to describe the job requirements as close as possible.”
Our clients appreciate our efforts as well. “they have always been a pleasure to work with and have always worked to ensure that they understand exactly what my needs are,” said one.
Missing red flags
The CIO.com article says interviewers should watch for “red flags” and, if one appears in the interview, amplify that by 10 to envision the problems you’ll be facing once the candidate is hired.
We’re a technology company that hires IT professionals for our own internal software development, support and infrastructure needs, so we have been sourcing and selecting many of the same types of employees our customers use as consultants for 35 years. We’ve got experience in spotting, and dealing with, red flags.
In fact, our multi-step candidate screening process is designed to identify red flags as early as possible so we’re not wasting anyone’s time — our customers or our candidates.
Our clients know that when they receive a candidate from us, that person is going to be an excellent fit for the position. As one of our clients said, “LRS has provided great candidates.”
Now, we’re not saying we’re perfect. We just know how easy it is to fall into the bad habits, so we work very hard to avoid them. As always, we invite you to tell us how we’re doing.