It’s hard to overstate how important it is to hire the right person for the job in your business. You need
someone who fits in with the company values, has the skills you need, and are good at what they do. The
problem is that hiring is a complicated process, and it’s very easy to slip up.
If you want to ensure that you’re hiring the right person, then you’ll want to ensure you’re avoiding all the
most common hiring mistakes. Here are the mistakes that most often come up in the hiring process, and
how you can avoid them.

1. Making Assumptions

There is something to be said for trusting your instincts while hiring. If something doesn’t seem right when
you’re talking to a potential new hire, then you’ll want to dig into that to find out why. However, on the
other hand you shouldn’t always go with the first impression that they make.
While that candidate may well give a great first impression, they may not actually be the right person for
the job. It’s easy to make the assumption that they’d work well and so offer them the role, but that may
not benefit you in the long term.
Instead, use the interview to try and disprove your first assumptions. You want to consider the candidate
from all angles, to see if they really are the right fit..

2. Not Looking For Diverse Candidates

When you first create your job posting, it’s so easy to have a specific person in mind. If you have that idea
of who you want that candidate to be, then it’s easy to start interviewing very similar candidates for the
role.
Of course, all your candidates should be similar in terms of the concrete skills they need for the job.
However, if you’re interviewing from the same age range, background, gender, or experience, then you’re
actually doing your company a disservice.
“When interviewing, you should be looking to interview a diverse range of people” says Adam Cawley, a HR
professional from Write My Paper and Essay Help . “When you do this, you’ll be able to bring in people from
a wide range of experiences.”
This benefits you as a company, as a diverse workforce brings in different experiences and ways of looking
at things. With this, you’re much more likely to grow.

3. Not Talking About Your Company Culture

When looking to hire a new employee, a lot of hirers get stuck on what the candidates can offer them.
However, they’re not thinking about what is the perceived added value of the role in candidates' eyes. If they are thinking
about that, then they may just think about the monetary rewards.
While candidates want to know about the salary on offer, they want to know more about your company
culture. As we spend so much time at work, we want to make sure that the company is a good fit for us. So
many HR departments are not taking the time to highlight the culture at their company when they start
looking for new hires.

During the hiring process, you want to ensure that you’re talking about the benefits package you offer, the
perks, and the flexibility that you’re able to offer. That will enable you to really reach the best candidates,
so you’ll get the best person possible on board.

4. Being Unclear About What The Role Is

Talk to anyone who’s job hunting right now, and you’ll hear all about this mistake companies are making.
There’s nothing more frustrating to them than applying for, and going through the interview process for, a
job that wasn’t as advertised. More likely than not, they’re going to drop out halfway through or turn down
the role if you offer it to them.
Of course, that’s a problem for you as you don’t want to spend money and time on a hiring process that
doesn’t work. As such, you really need to be clear about what it is that you’re looking for in a candidate.
Before you even start the hiring process, sit down and really nail down what it is the job entails, and what
you need from a candidate. That helps you reduce the amount of candidates who leave half way through
the hiring process, and really ensure you get the right person for the job.

5. Having An Unclear Hiring Process

As well as being unclear about the role in question, your business may have an unclear hiring policy overall.
If you’re not sure about the policy, then at best it can leave everyone confused and cause issues when
bringing someone on board. At worst, it can actually lead to legal troubles.
As such, you need to ensure you have an employee handbook in place, that really does lay out what the
policy is in terms of hiring. That covers both you and the potential employee, and should avoid issues in the
future.

6. You’re Not Using Social Media

There are so many reasons why you should have a strong social media presence as a business. It’s
something that’s essential for marketing, as you’re able to interact with customers and clients, and show
them what you have to offer.
That social media presence is vital for potential candidates too. “When a candidate is considering a role at
your company, they’re very likely to look you up on social media” says professional development blogger
Harriet Newman, from Essay Services and Dissertation Help . “If you have a weak presence, or no presence
at all, that’s a red flag to them.”
Indeed, if you’re not active on social media it can give the impression the company isn’t with the times, and
isn’t looking to engage with its audience. You don’t want to be giving that impression to potential
candidates, so look at improving your social media presence now.

7. Not Checking References

References have long been a key part of the hiring process, but there are so many companies that aren’t
even checking them. This is something that you really need to be doing, if you want to make sure that
you’re hiring the right person for the job at hand.
It’s not all about checking to see if they have the skills needed, although that’s important too. You want to
make sure that they would fit in with your company culture. Talking to their references will help you do
that.

8. Not Listening To The Candidate

When you get to the interview stage, you’ll be looking to see what the candidate is like face to face. This is
your chance to really get an idea of who they are, but many hiring staff tend to talk more than they listen to
them.
You can ensure you’re not doing this by asking open-ended questions, and allowing for silence when
needed. You want to give the candidate space to elaborate on themselves and their skills, so you can see if
they’re the person you’re looking for.
These are some of the most common mistakes that HR staff are making right now when they’re looking to
hire new employees. Now you’re aware of them, you can make sure that you’re avoiding making them in
your own hiring process.

These are some of the most common mistakes that HR staff are making right now, when they’re looking to
hire new employees. Now you’re aware of them, you can make sure that you’re avoiding making them in
your own hiring process.