Believe it or not, employers are not perfect; they can make mistakes during interviews. When employers make mistakes, it can be very harmful to the success of the company. Why? Because these mistakes could scare away some of the best talent on the market today. Without this talent, the company may not reach its goals.
Here will discuss 10 common interview mistakes employers make and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1 – Becoming Emotionally Involved in Candidates
One common interview mistake employers make is becoming emotionally involved in candidates, especially those who are professional interviews. This means that they dress to the nines, have answers for every question, know how to sweet talk the employer and come across as ‘the’ person to hire for the job available.
Mistake #2 – Failing to Prepare
Another common interview mistake is failing to prepare for the interview. Preparation for a job interview is not just for a candidate. The employer must avoid asking stock interview questions. A little preparation can help create excellent questions that will excite a candidate.
Mistake #3 – Relying Only on a Job Interview
Relying solely on the interview to make a hiring decision is another common pitfall of managers during the interview process. The interview isn’t the be-all and end-all in choosing a new employee. Consider giving the candidate a personality test, a written test if they are a writer or a customer service test if they will be dealing with clients on a regular basis.
Mistake #4 – Don’t Know Key Requirements
Employers that do not know the key requirements of an open job are setting themselves up for failure when hiring new employees. When you write a job description, you put together a list of requirements for the job. Not every candidate will have all of those requirements. This is why you must put a weight on which requirements are the most important for candidates to have.
Mistake #5 – No Follow-Up with Candidate
Employers that do not follow up with candidates are making another crucial mistake throughout the interview process. They are hurting their chances at landing the candidate as a first choice, second choice or third choice. They are also building a poor reputation within the market. The easy solution here is to send a follow-up email or make a follow-up phone call. It is that simple.
Mistake #6 – Failure to Sell the Company
Even though the candidate has already applied for an open job, You still must sell your company to that candidate or risk losing their interest. You may think that simply because a candidate has applied, he or she is infinitely interested. This cannot be further from the truth.
Mistake #7 – Using Incorrect Factors to Evaluate Candidate
Employers tend to find new candidates by comparing them to current or former top-notch employees. They like to look for candidates who have the same skills, personality, traits and more Avoid this issue by evaluating each individual candidate based on how they fit the requirements of the job and not how they stack up to current or former employees.
Mistake #8 – Employer Does all the Talking
Talking through the majority of the interview technically changes the nature of the meeting. It is more of a briefing session. The purpose of the job interview is to ask questions of the candidate and find out as much as possible about him or her prior to making an offer of employment.
Mistake #9 – Providing a Salary Range
Employers should never offer a salary range for the job during the interview. Instead, ask the candidate what their range is for the job. You can then determine if the range falls within your budget.
Mistake #10 – Distractions
Distractions during an interview can hurt a company’s chances of landing a top candidate. These include phone calls, answering emails, co-workers entering the office and more. A great way to avoid distractions is to conduct the interview in a conference or meeting room.
You can avoid all of these mistakes and more by letting the experienced recruitment professionals at Synerfac Technical Staffing in Baltimore handle your interviews for you.
