5 Common Recruiting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

You don’t need us to tell you—the goal of hiring talented, qualified job candidates is now a lot harder to achieve than it once was. Businesses are pursuing a wide range of strategies in order to replenish their workforce, and to build new talent for the future.

At the same time, companies often make key recruiting mistakes that not only cost them a great candidate but leave them farther behind the competition. In today’s red-hot job market, such mistakes must be avoided at all costs.

Here’s a look at common recruiting mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Inadequate or misleading job descriptions. If your job postings are poorly worded or inaccurate, you’ll attract the wrong type of candidate. Every job posting should clearly delineate the tasks and responsibilities involved, the types of skills and experience required, and some description of the ideal personality for the job. This will help cull responses and get you closer to the “perfect” candidate.

2. Failing to “sell” your company. Some businesses still don’t understand that the best candidates can pick and choose among many options. They fail to promote their own company’s culture, opportunities for growth, upbeat work environment, and so on. Look at the situation from the job-seeker’s perspective and develop compelling answers to these questions:

• Why should I want to work for your company?
• What does your company offer that I can’t find at one of your competitors?
• How do you foresee the company growing in the near future in ways that benefit me and other potential employees?

You’ll see greater interest among job applicants if you answer these questions in an authentic and inspiring manner.

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3. Not making recruitment a systematic process. While every job candidate is different, the recruiting process itself shouldn’t be. A systematic process that encompasses sending resumes, taking personality tests, conducting background checks, undergoing interviews, etc., is far more likely to yield great results than a haphazard approach.

4. Neglecting to leverage social media. If you’re not already using social media to promote your business and attract new talent, now’s the time to get on board. It’s a powerful recruitment tool if you go about it the right way. Here are tips:

• Everything you post on your company’s website and social media platforms—from blog posts to company news, images and videos—should be filtered through the lens of brand awareness and company culture. Always gauge the potential impact of your content through the eyes of prospective employees. Is what you’re posting likely to attract them or turn them off? Are you portraying your business as a place where people would like to work or are you discouraging further interest?
• Boost your recruitment efforts by building ties with social media influencers. Seek out industry influencers with sizable networks, share their content and offer high-quality content of your own. As the relationships grow, you can begin touting job opportunities in your company—reaching a far greater audience than might otherwise be possible.
• Get active on millennial-focused platforms. Explore Snapchat, Instagram and other sites where millennials “hang out.” Building your presence on these sites can result in greater brand awareness among the job-seekers you most wish to attract.

5. Rejecting candidates the wrong way. Inevitably, not every candidate will be right for your business. But avoid ending the relationship on a sour note. No one wants a disgruntled job applicant tweeting and posting unfavorable comments about your company based on a bad interview or recruiting experience. You never know when a candidate who wasn’t the right fit might (because he or she remembers how pleasant and approachable your recruiters were) refer a friend or colleague who turns out to be precisely the A-player employee you’re looking for.

All of these recruiting mistakes can be avoided, thus upping the odds in your favor of finding the right candidate for the job.

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