HOW TO AVOID MAKING A BAD HIRE: Be aware of these warning signs during the recruiting process
I guess I could have called this “Hiring Good People”, but we all know what it is like to make a poor hiring decision and you are stuck with unqualified or toxic person. Hiring someone that you probably shouldn’t have, can affect the entire organization. There might also be significant financial repercussions like loss of productivity or worse losing customers.
How to spot someone who is not a good fit.
It’s all about the money:
If you speak to someone and their only motive is to make more money and nothing else, this is not the type of person you want to hire. They will jump at the next higher paying opportunity that comes along. Before you know it, you are forced to begin the recruiting process all over again.
History of not getting along with people.
It is understandable when someone decides to leave a job because their boss is a jerk or that they didn’t get along with their co-workers. Unfortunately, if this seems to be a trend in the candidate’s employment history, that is a red flag. Every person you hire should work well with others, both coworkers and managers alike. There is nothing worse than hiring someone that no one on the team gets along with. Include more of the team in the interview process, which will really help minimize this hiring challenge.
It's all in the details:
When you speak to candidates and they are leaving out details in their experience and background, usually means they are not qualified. People apply for a positions that they do not qualify for all the time and it is not the candidate’s fault. Honestly, it is usually the hiring teams’ fault for not asking enough details questions during the recruiting process. What usually happens in this case is a month or two goes by, the hiring manager realizes that they do not have the experience to be successful in the position and they have to let them go. So, to avoid making this hiring mistake, make sure you ask plenty of detailed questions to get a better idea if they are qualified or not.
The Reference Problem:
I have also encountered this one on several occasions and it can really sneak up on you. One reason is that references are often not checked until the end of the recruiting/hiring cycle. Another problem I have seen, is a lack of good and verifiable references. There have been too many occasions when a candidate receives a job offer and hiring team is scrambling to provide final reference check in order for the candidate to start work. Only to find out that references do not check out or worse they turn out to be all bad. Some companies do not put enough credibility into reference checking. Many bad hires could have been avoided if there was a more detailed reference check process in place. That is why a detailed reference check should always be conducted well before an offer is extended.
Hiring good people many times comes down to trusting your instincts that the person you are hiring will work out. Not trusting those instincts and ignoring some of the red flags can result in a bad hire. Be aware of the some of the warning signs and include more of your team in the recruiting/hiring process and you will be much more successful hiring great people.
