5 Hiring Mistakes HR Professionals Should Avoid

A strong team is like a well-oiled machine. As an HR professional, you’re responsible for finding the right pieces to keep the machine running efficiently. This is no easy task, which is why successful hiring managers possess strong communication, decision making and leadership skills. Hiring managers bring value to their team, not only with their skills but through the people they hire.

Are you interested in making a difference? Whether you’re already earning your degree, or plan on starting your educational journey soon, you’ll benefit from learning about five common mistakes all hiring managers should avoid.

Posting Unclear Job Listings

Strong job postings attract strong candidates, so it’s imperative for hiring managers to write clear, concise and comprehensive job listings. This increases the chances of finding well-suited candidates and minimizes the time spent speaking to ill-suited candidates who didn’t have an accurate understanding of the job description. Be clear about the responsibilities and qualifications your ideal candidate possesses.

Being Overly Strict with Qualifications

While it’s important to fill positions with the most qualified individuals possible, there’s a risk of missing some possibly perfect candidates by being rigid with qualifications. If a candidate isn’t a perfect match on paper but gave a stellar interview, it’s worth exploring this candidate further. By doing so, you will create an even larger pool of potential superstars to choose from. 

Not Involving Others in The Hiring Process

Even though hiring managers have the responsibility of interviewing candidates, it benefits everyone to have multiple team members take part in the hiring process. This ensures that the potential new hire will work well with the whole team. Getting multiple opinions on candidates is not only thorough but makes your existing team members feel involved in a decision that will affect them. 

Ghosting Candidates That You Don’t Hire

It’s exciting to tell someone they got the job, but you can’t neglect those who didn’t get hired. Not following up with candidates is disrespectful. Jobseekers put a lot of time, effort and emotion into the job search process, and are anxiously waiting to hear from you. Even if it’s a no, it’s professional to contact them quickly with your answer. Maintaining a good relationship with candidates you didn’t hire is also valuable and could lead to filling a better-suited role in the future.

Using The Same Questions in Every Interview

Throughout your career, you’ll be very familiar with common interview questions. While it’s helpful to ask candidates the core questions, like “why should we hire you?” It's helpful to ask different candidates varying questions. Go beyond the surface-level conversations. Ask follow-up questions to better understand how the candidate will work on your team. In the same way, some hiring managers over-use interview questions, jobseekers have prepared replies to questions they’ve heard before. You’ll have more valuable conversations when you go off script and in-depth.