The most common mistakes in hiring and how to avoid them

The most common mistakes in talent acquisition and tips to avoid them

1. When an apple is compared to a pear

By far the most common mistake in talent acquisition is when candidates are compared to each other. This is wrong, not only because it gives you false results and you get pulled away from your original goal, but also because comparing an apple to a pear is simply impossible.

Let us give you an example: a junior candidate with limited experience and a senior candidate with a wide range of experience have very different skills, knowledge, and expertise to offer to your organisation. The question should not therefore be whether the apple or the pear is better for you. The questions should be defined as follows: What is the talent need of the organisation currently? What is the work that needs to get done? What are the short, mid and long term results that you are expecting from this role? Then, prepare a clear job description and person specification and compare each candidate to your JD and PS. Who meets your expectations the most? Who offers the best value for money?
Pro tip: use scorecards for each stage to record your candidate evaluations.

2. When there is 'Little me' hiring

Although it's normal to feel drawn to those who are similar to us, it's not actually a good idea in business to make a decision based on "chemistry". You will need people in your team who are able to see things from very different perspectives and can grow your organisation with you in many different ways. It's highly likely that these people will have different personalities, ambitions, talents and skills and they will come from very different social, economic, educational, and cultural backgrounds. The more colourful your team, the stronger your organisation will be. Therefore, we suggest having very clear competency expectations and culture principles established, which will be the "rules", the common grounds for your team to operate by. For actual work, freedom and opportunities to be creative will enable individuals to bring about the best results.
Pro tip: add competency-based interview questions to your scorecards, as well as questions based on company values to be as objective as possible in your assessment.

3. Not following a process
It's easy to fall into this trap because everyone is busy, and some things really just seem unnecessary at that time. But if your process is designed thoroughly and you have tested its effectiveness, why change something that works perfectly? Maybe a candidate seems really experienced and doesn’t seem like they need to complete that test. Or perhaps they are really friendly and don’t need to go for a peer interview. However, these are almost always perceptions, and sometimes even unconscious/conscious bias.

These mistakes can be very costly, so it’s better to avoid them!

What other mistakes have you made in the past? What have you learned from them?