The Top 5 Hiring Mistakes

By Marcia Zidle on May 3, 2011

Have you ever made a hiring mistake — selecting the wrong person for the position?

Most of us, who are or have been supervisors, have had to deal with the consequences of a poor hire. It can eat up one’s time and energy and weaken an entire team. However, a good hire can take the weight of the world off your shoulders.

So why do so many managers fail to hire the right people for the right jobs? Here are the top five hiring mistakes supervisors make. Make sure you don’t.

1. Failure to prepare.
When managers are so busy dealing with multiple issues everyday, they may not have the time to do the front-end homework that is required. Find the time because bad hiring decisions can be costly in terms of your time and your money.

2. Failure to identify success factors.
You must go beyond the job description. Make a list of the qualities to be successful as a service champion, for example. It could be two or three or it could be 10. Then go out and find people to match those qualities.

3. Failure to evaluate correctly the person’s skills.
If the position requires someone who is detail-oriented, then determine if the candidate has this skill either through the use of behavioral interviewing or through some form of assessment.

4. Failure to deal with a poor fit.
Something changed. Maybe the job, the organization, or the person changed. Maybe everything changed. Many people end up in the wrong place because they stayed in the right place too long. So the right place can become the wrong place over a matter of time.

5. Failure to be patient.
Sometimes the person is in the right place, but they have to grow into it — they have to be trained and developed. You know they have the talent they have the ability, they have the passion; but they need time and someone to help them.

Management Success Tip

Remember, good hires are never an accident. It is always the result of good preparation, good interviewing, and good decision making. So stop making hiring mistakes and start selecting the right people for the right jobs.

Look for our next post “Behaviorial Interviewing” – How to increase the odds for selecting the best person for the job.

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?