Top 8 Recruiting Myths - BUSTED!
There are many recruiting myths that interfere with the hiring process. Past experiences, poor training and office legacies keep these myths alive. The successful interviewer needs to overcome the myths and recruit in reality. How many of these myths do you believe? Millions of interviews are conducted every year and with that comes numerous myths about the recruiting process. For some reason, these myths have become widely accepted and dispelling them has become an important issue. Below is a list of the eight most common recruiting myths:
1. Good interviews always select the best employee - Managers hire unqualified people every day. Most qualified candidates just aren’t good at interviewing. Nerves and other outside factors can also affect the way the candidate interviews. Unqualified candidates with polished interviewing skills often get the job because they present themselves well and appear to “fit in” with the team. It’s important to understand the disparity and to use more than the interview when making a decision. Don’t spend months trying to turn a bad hire into a good hire. Managers often know very quickly if a new employee is going to contribute or not. If you hire the wrong person act quickly! Hope that your #2 candidate is still around.
2. Good questions reduce hiring errors - Asking good questions are essential but unreliable. Many firing managers think that asking good questions will result in the right answers and that’s all. Listening, observing and adjusting to the interview are just as important as asking good questions. Noting how a candidate reacts to the questions, closely listening to the answer, an interviewer can learn a lot more about the person and in turn reduce hiring errors.
3. Experience does not compensate for the lack of a degree - Although having a degree is a huge plus, many extremely talented candidates may not have the degree you are looking for. Life experience, work history, hobbies, personal interests can sometimes compensate for not having a degree. Don’t make assumptions. If the un-degreed candidate is appealing consider taking the risk and give him/her a chance.
4. An HR manager or recruiter decides who gets hired - HR managers and recruiters generally have little say in the actual hiring. High level managers usually make the hiring decisions. However, the HR manager or recruiter may play an important role in the screening of candidates by weeding out the bad and presenting the good candidates to hiring managers.
5. Managers should hire as many people as they think the need - It is important that managers are aware of the financial issues that can arise when hiring candidates. Financial offers must be in line with department budgets and dollars allocated to determine growth of the team. Hiring more people than you need could quickly drive your company into financial difficulties.
6. Candidates who have a history of success will have a future of success - Not necessarily true. Though history is important it’s only a piece of the puzzle. A candidate’s ability to succeed is strongly influenced by the environment and team that they work with. Don’t ignore a candidate’s history but be sure to consider all the factors that contributed to the success.
7. Structured interviews are the best approach - Most people who conduct interviews possess no interview training. To avoid issues with untrained interviewers, companies implement structured interviews that ask each candidate the same questions. By repeatedly asking the same questions companies neglect the listening, observing and testing nature of the interview. Some companies can make a structured interview format work. However it may result in a one sided view of the potential candidate.
8. The “perfect” employee is out there somewhere - Most hiring managers look for the “perfect” employee. Unfortunately, that person may not be found for every open position. Look for a “good” fit employee and allow for some flexibility in job duties, allowing the employee to leverage his or her strengths as the job evolves. That “good” fit candidate may redefine the job and take the organization to the next level and ending up the “perfect” employee.
There are many recruiting myths that interfere with the hiring process. Past experiences, poor training and office legacies keep these myths alive. The successful interviewer needs to overcome the myths and recruit in reality. How many of these myths do you believe? Millions of interviews are conducted every year and with that comes numerous myths about the recruiting process. For some reason, these myths have become widely accepted and dispelling them has become an important issue. Below is a list of the eight most common recruiting myths:
1. Good interviews always select the best employee - Managers hire unqualified people every day. Most qualified candidates just aren’t good at interviewing. Nerves and other outside factors can also affect the way the candidate interviews. Unqualified candidates with polished interviewing skills often get the job because they present themselves well and appear to “fit in” with the team. It’s important to understand the disparity and to use more than the interview when making a decision. Don’t spend months trying to turn a bad hire into a good hire. Managers often know very quickly if a new employee is going to contribute or not. If you hire the wrong person act quickly! Hope that your #2 candidate is still around.
2. Good questions reduce hiring errors - Asking good questions are essential but unreliable. Many firing managers think that asking good questions will result in the right answers and that’s all. Listening, observing and adjusting to the interview are just as important as asking good questions. Noting how a candidate reacts to the questions, closely listening to the answer, an interviewer can learn a lot more about the person and in turn reduce hiring errors.
3. Experience does not compensate for the lack of a degree - Although having a degree is a huge plus, many extremely talented candidates may not have the degree you are looking for. Life experience, work history, hobbies, personal interests can sometimes compensate for not having a degree. Don’t make assumptions. If the un-degreed candidate is appealing consider taking the risk and give him/her a chance.
4. An HR manager or recruiter decides who gets hired - HR managers and recruiters generally have little say in the actual hiring. High level managers usually make the hiring decisions. However, the HR manager or recruiter may play an important role in the screening of candidates by weeding out the bad and presenting the good candidates to hiring managers.
5. Managers should hire as many people as they think the need - It is important that managers are aware of the financial issues that can arise when hiring candidates. Financial offers must be in line with department budgets and dollars allocated to determine growth of the team. Hiring more people than you need could quickly drive your company into financial difficulties.
6. Candidates who have a history of success will have a future of success - Not necessarily true. Though history is important it’s only a piece of the puzzle. A candidate’s ability to succeed is strongly influenced by the environment and team that they work with. Don’t ignore a candidate’s history but be sure to consider all the factors that contributed to the success.
7. Structured interviews are the best approach - Most people who conduct interviews possess no interview training. To avoid issues with untrained interviewers, companies implement structured interviews that ask each candidate the same questions. By repeatedly asking the same questions companies neglect the listening, observing and testing nature of the interview. Some companies can make a structured interview format work. However it may result in a one sided view of the potential candidate.
8. The “perfect” employee is out there somewhere - Most hiring managers look for the “perfect” employee. Unfortunately, that person may not be found for every open position. Look for a “good” fit employee and allow for some flexibility in job duties, allowing the employee to leverage his or her strengths as the job evolves. That “good” fit candidate may redefine the job and take the organization to the next level and ending up the “perfect” employee.