11 Common Mistakes That Recruiters Make

It’s a full time job to recruit top talent. The people you choose to hire will ultimately shape the future of your company. They are directly tied to your company’s success. Don’t mess up.

It’s your job to do whatever you can to select the right people. When you read resumes, interview job candidates, check references, run background checks, and screen candidates via social media it’s pretty easy to sift and sort through the applicant pool and find a solid new employee. Do your job and you’ll hire the right person.

But recruiters are human and humans make mistakes. When it comes to recruiting, these are some of the most common mistakes that recruiters make:

1. Complacency – It’s easy to grow complacent and stuck in your ways. To attract the top recruits to your company you need to be on top of your game. Be ready to adapt to changing trends and to embrace the latest technology.
2. Always Trusting The Resume – Resumes are like a job candidate’s highlight reel. Don’t be fooled though. There is more to a job candidate than what they can put down on paper.
3. Not Running A Background Check – While a background check may seem unnecessary, it’s an important part of the hiring process. You never know what a candidate has done in their past and what might come back to haunt you because you didn’t check.
4. Making A Desperate Hire – When you feel the pressure to hire someone immediately, beware. You never want to hire someone just because you need them. It’s better to wait and find the right person for the job.
5. Writing A Poor Job Description – If you don’t spend the time to write a solid job description, you’ll waste a lot of time later on either sifting and sorting through resumes of unqualified candidates or wondering why no one applied for the job. Nail down the specifics of the job so that you can attract the right people.
6. Poor Communication – Communication problems plague all sorts of businesses. It’s your job to communicate all of the necessary information to a candidate including important times and dates, necessary job information, and even follow ups.
7. Waiting For The “Perfect” Candidate – It’s unwise to make a desperate hire, but it’s also a poor decision to hold out for the perfect candidate. The perfect candidate unfortunately doesn’t exist. Instead, hire the best person for the job.
8. Not Screening Candidates On Social Media – You’ll be amazed what you can find with a simple Google search or social media screening. Always check to see if the person you meet on paper and in a job interview matches the person that the world sees on social media.
9. Lacking Preparation At The Interview – All recruiters judge a job candidate by how prepared they are at the interview. As a HR pro, you also need to be prepared so that you can properly evaluate the job candidate.
10. Not Trusting Your Gut – Sometimes you just need to trust your gut.
11. Assuming Someone Can Actually Do The Job – While a candidate may appear great in person and on paper, it’s your job to determine if they can actually do the job you need done. If the candidate can’t produce high quality work, they might not be the best choice.

If you make a recruiting mistake that leaves you holding your head and wondering what in the world happened, be sure to learn from your error. Grow from that experience and it will make you a better person and a more well rounded recruiter.