Common Hiring Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

There are a lot of factors you need to take into consideration to hire the best employees. From posting the job, to reviewing resumes, to interviewing candidates, to making a job offer, and finally to onboarding the employee, there is a lot to think about. It can be easy for small business leaders to accidentally make mistakes, leading to poor hiring decisions. Here are some common hiring mistakes and ways to avoid them: 

Decrease Stress 

When you are stressed or worried, you tend to make irrational decisions. Allow yourself plenty of time to make decisions at each stage of the hiring process. Don’t rush into hiring someone simply to fill a position. A bad hire is often worse than an empty position. 

Include Others 

You never need to make hiring decisions alone, nor should you. Include relevant members of your teams in the interviewing process and ask for their input. This can give you a helpful difference of perspective. 

Have a Plan 

Setting up a plan for your hiring process can take away a lot of the stress you may feel when hiring someone. Having a standard process for hiring can make the process run more smoothly and lets everyone know what the next steps and timeline are. 

Understand First Impressions 

You’ve likely heard that your first impressions during an interview are influenced by unconscious bias. While this is true, it doesn’t mean you should immediately discredit your first impressions. If you get a bad impression of a candidate, make sure to follow up. Get other interviewers involved and ask for their thoughts. If they also had a bad feeling about the candidate, you likely shouldn’t pursue the candidate any further.  

Check References 

If a candidate provides references, make sure to utilize that resource. Contact the references and ask questions about the candidate’s past performance strengths, and weaknesses. This can give you a better view of the candidate’s work style and capabilities.  

For more tips on how to improve your hiring process, check out Helpside’s free hiring checklist. You can download it by clicking the button below.