You’re an experienced, savvy recruiter. You find the best candidates and make a perfect match with your open roles. Even the best of us make mistakes from time to time, though. In fact, most recruiters will succumb to one of these mistakes eventually.
Avoid these mistakes to land better talent for your organization.
Here are four of the most common mistakes – read them now, and you’ll be in great shape to avoid them later!
- Not taking time to craft excellent job descriptions. With all that’s on your plate, job descriptions can almost seem like an afterthought. But spending an extra few minutes to create a compelling job description that accurately conveys requirements and expectations for the job will save you significant time (and possibly headaches) down the road. Better job descriptions lead to more informed candidates. More informed candidates have better prepared resumes and cover letters, which make identifying top talent a bit easier. Plus, they’re more likely to come to job interviews better prepared with thoughtful questions.
- Only searching for the “perfect” match. You may think you know exactly the perfect candidates for your job openings. The precise background, education and experience needed to thrive in your roles is perfectly laid out for you. But are these expectations really setting you up to find the best candidates for those roles? Or more importantly, for your company? Take a “big picture” look at candidates before painting a picture in your mind of how the perfect candidate should look. Speak to managers and team members to understand how employees will fit into the big picture, then be flexible while meeting with candidates. While you certainly want to adhere to requirements and expectations, taking a more open-minded approach could mean landing a future superstar within your organization.
- Turning down overqualified candidates. We are living in an era where career transitions are more common than ever. Online education has made learning about new fields and areas of interest easier than ever, and bright professionals are taking advantage. But, eager professionals with impressive resumes can set off the “overqualified” warning to recruiters. Turn off that warning and be open to overqualified candidates – while you certainly want to conduct your due diligence to prevent being a “stepping stone” organization, you will likely gain a passionate, eager employee.
- Not communicating. Whether it’s explaining things during a telephone screen or following up post-interview with next steps or decisions, communicating with candidates is critical to a successful recruiting career. Remember, candidates are also your customers. If you leave them hanging or fail to provide critical information to help them make decisions or continue through the hiring process, you are providing poor customer service. While you may not be interested in certain candidates, taking a few moments to communicate effectively ensures that – while they may not have gotten the job – you still value their application. Word of mouth is extremely important when it comes to considering new employers…you want to ensure word of mouth about your organization is positive! Plus, while a candidate might not be the right fit for this role, he or she may be a perfect fit for another role down the line. If you’ve failed to communicate effectively and have left a negative impression, do you think they’ll want to work for you later?
Finding great talent in today’s marketplace can be a challenge, but following these tips can help you considerably. Need more help? Helpmates has an extensive network of talented professionals across Southern California who are ready to jump in and make an immediate impact on your business. Contact us today to learn more.
