Here’s what people hate most about your hiring process
According to Manpower there is a talent shortage. 72.8% of employers are finding it tough to find skilled employees. With that being said, you really can’t afford to provide a rubbish candidate experience during your hiring process. It’s amazing how so many companies still don’t provide an exceptional hiring process. It is so important if you want to attract and retain the very best talent! We tell you the mistakes you could be making that are putting your potential future employees off from working for you.
Your job description comes across as very demanding
Do you say, ‘if you are looking for the standard 9-5 role then this is not for you’? Perhaps the job is busy and full on, but this doesn’t mean your job description has to sound over bearing and damn right demanding. This is going to put people off immediately, they haven’t even got through the door and it sounds like you’re asking them to slog their guts out for you.
You shouldn’t need to detail every tiny part of the job. This comes once you can chat to the person in the interview or even once they have started and settled into the role. Naturally we do a lot more once we are familiar with the role and the company anyway. Keep it more general and make it as attractive as you can. Remember it’s an advert to attract the best talent. Not an endless list of tasks and responsibilities.
You have a rubbish website
Your website is the first place that will people will go to after they have read your job description. If it looks out of date, messy, unprofessional, and is difficult to navigate it’s going to put them off immediately. It conveys that your business isn’t that great (even if it is) and that you are behind the times. People want to work for forward-thinking successful companies who they know are going to flourish.
Make sure your website is slick, clean, tidy, modern and incredibly easy to use. This will give the best first impression to your future employees.
Your application is soooo long
You have a form for people to fill out which is just too long. It takes over 20 minutes to complete and asks way too many questions. People might start to complete it then realise how long it’s taking and give up. Yes you may have a great job on offer, but if there is a similar one with an easier application then chances are that people may just go for that one instead.
Make sure that yours takes no longer than 10 minutes to complete and that you have no more than 10 questions or boxes to fill in.
Your hiring process takes too long
Do you have four rounds of interviews before the person can be accepted? Not only does this look incredibly pretentious and egotistical on your part, it is also unrealistic. If you have a week or two between each of these rounds then it could take up to two months for a candidate to hear whether they have been successful or not? In the mean time they could have been offered another job, or they could just think you don’t value their time which makes them not want to work for you anyway.
We think at most you should have two interviews. You can extend the second interview to ensure you get all of the information you need. You can also set homework if you would like more proof of skill, this saves them having to come in again. You should only have three if it’s absolutely necessary and you are completely divided on who to hire.
You seem like you are trying to trick them out in the interview process
An interview should be a chance for you to find out more about a person and listen to their skills. Of course you should be questioning them on their ability to do certain tasks, but you should never try to catch them out. Trying to cause deliberate slip ups doesn’t make you look very friendly or approachable.
For example you say “You’ve written here that you have managed a team of 10, but when I look at your Linkedin it doesn’t say ‘manager’ at all, don’t you think this is a bit misleading?” Instead you should say “That’s great that you have managed a team of ten could you tell me a bit more about that. We had a look on your Linkedin and were curious as to why you don’t detail this on your page?”
You are too cold in your interview process
Some people turn off their emotions in an interview because they don’t want to give anything away. Or perhaps this is their way of keeping it strictly professional. The problem with this is that you can come across a a rude ice king/queen. Nobody wants to work for an emotionless psychopath. It’s ok to smile and laugh in your interview. The key is to always make your candidate feel welcome and comfortable.
Your communication during the hiring process is awful
You act like you are the only important company that your candidate is applying to. You keep them in the dark and don’t respond to their emails for up to a week. This is because you are ‘so busy and overwhelmed with responses.’ This may be true but you should always let your candidates know what is going on. If you don’t it can leave them thinking that you’re rude and selfish and they may not want to work for you as a result of this.
You show them round the shop floor or office when it’s painfully quiet
This is going to make your work environment look like the most boring place to work on the planet. If it’s quieter then usual then you’d be best to not show them around at all. A good idea is to create a welcome video. In this video you can show them around the workplace when it’s lively, introduce their team and show off your great culture and atmosphere. Just don’t go too over the top as your employees may feel underwhelmed when they join and it’s not quite what they were expecting.
You have too many people coming in and out of their interview
Do you get everyone from your immediate team to come in and have a ‘chat’ with the candidate? This can make them feel like a caged zoo animal. You should only select the four closest people who will be working with them. Any more than this is going to make them feel awkward. It conveys that you are not overly keen on them so you have to get 10 other people to come in and decide as well. It doesn’t look polite and it can be quite intimidating.
You spend too long asking pointless questions and not enough time seeing whether they can actually do the job
Your interview shouldn’t waste anyone’s time. What is the point of asking your candidate what their greatest achievement has been? Instead you should be getting them to fill out answers to possible scenarios that could happen on the job. This will show them that you are efficient and that you value yours and their time.
You don’t give their questions enough time and attention
You gloss over their questions, giving short or vague answers. This is incredibly rude considering they have just sat through a grilling with you. It comes across as selfish and ignorant. You should always factor in time to fully answer their questions and if you don’t know the answers find somebody that does. It shows that you care about their concerns and makes you look like a respectable employer.
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