Insights

A bad hire can be horrifyingly costly, so hiring the right candidate is essential for any business. Hiring the wrong person will cost you valuable time and money, two things very few businesses can afford to lose. However the negative impacts do not stop there. Bringing the wrong candidate on board could impact employee morale, productivity and could take away time from your management team, potentially impacting your client or customer service. Here we outline our top tips to ensure you do not hire the wrong candidates: Create a comprehensive job description: the devil is in the detail when it comes to outlining a job specification. You need to have considered all eventualities. Remember to include as much detail as possible, this will help you attract candidates most relevant to the role you are advertising. Ask technical questions: you should ask candidates some difficult technical questions in the interview. Remember, the interview is not a torture chamber but you should try to challenge the interviewees so you can properly ascertain their skill level and analyse how they respond under pressure. Train your interviewers: to give your company the best chance of finding the best candidates you must ensure your interviewers are fully trained and have a clear idea of the sort of candidate they are looking for. Interviews are not about trying to find the first candidate that fits your specification. Interviewers need to be patient, consider all the candidates, and ascertain the best qualities from every interviewee in what is a stressful situation. You may also consider a staged interview process to meet candidates on a variety of occasions. This can often help relieve the candidate of nerves that a first time meeting can throw up. You do not want to miss out on the best person for the job because they are not good at interviews. Thoroughly research your candidates: recruitment is not a witch hunt, but you should always do some research on your candidates before or after you have interviewed them to look for any information they may not have included in their CV or application. Check their LinkedIn profile to see if their career history matches their CV, explore social networking sites to make sure they are not posting anything controversial that could harm your company’s reputation, and check their references – calling the referee to verify their words. Check candidate references: doing your own research is all well and good, but remember to check references to ensure you are hiring the right candidate. Hiring a ‘toxic’ employee can leave trails of negativity. Make sure you ask for at least three. This should be enough to get a good understanding of the candidate and their employment history as employees usually leave their fingerprints – good and bad – all over their former employers. Protect yourself: protect yourself from any gruesome hiring mistakes by putting a probationary period in place. In essence, a probationary period gives you the option of terminating a contract in the event that a new employee does not perform as expected. While these clauses are not loved by new employees, they have become so commonplace that they have become universally accepted. This is also beneficial for the candidate as it gives them some breathing space to decide if you are the right organisation culturally for them. For more handy tips on ensuring your recruitment process is a success check out our employer resources section. Alternatively you can get in touch with our expert team today to discuss your recruitment needs.

Interviews can be scary, and often very stressful. As a result many candidates are not able to perform at their best. That is why it is so important to prepare yourself beforehand and think of any eventualities where you might slip up. However, even with preparation many people still make simple errors which can cost them the job. Whether you are looking for your first entry-level role, returning to work, or experienced in your sector, chances are you are going to encounter some seriously frightful interviews. But, if you remember to avoid the most terrifying mistakes, you should be just fine. Here are the most common job interview mistakes we think candidates often make, and how you can ensure you do not make them in your next interview situation. Dress appropriately – dressing inappropriately can hugely impact your chances of securing a role. Do not treat your job interview as an excuse to play dress up. It is crucial that you dress appropriately for the role you are applying for. It is important to look well-dressed and put together, no matter what the company. Prepare, prepare, prepare – candidates that do not prepare for interview very rarely get the job. Employers are looking for you to match your skillsets to their needs, and will also want to know that you have done some research on them in advance. Not doing this could land you in a very embarrassing situation, and will most probably result in your application being rejected. Talking too much – there is nothing worse than interviewing someone who goes on and talks too much after every question. The interviewer does not need to know your life story, keep your answers to-the-point and focused. This is where preparation is key. Think about the questions they may ask you and prepare your answers to ensure you do not get side-tracked on the day. If you do feel like you are going off on a tangent, quickly round up your answer and await the next question. Not talking enough – do not turn into a zombie either. Whether you are suffering from job search burnout or did not get a good night’s sleep, letting your exhaustion show is a big mistake. Companies want to hire candidates who are excited about the job they are interviewing for, and giving one word answers and not engaging in conversations will not give off the best impression. Arriving late – first impressions are very important, and running late will get you off to a bad start before the interviewers have even met you. Running late not only suggests poor time management skills, but shows a lack of respect for the company, the position, and even your interviewer. You should therefore ensure you arrive on time, or even manage your time so that you make it to the interview five to ten minutes early. That way, if something unforeseen comes up on your way over to your interview, you will have some time to spare. Concentrate and keep engaged – looking bored or disengaged is one of the biggest mistakes candidates often make. It is important to remember that you are being assessed from the minute you walk into your interview location. Treat everyone you meet with respect, always smile and show positive body language throughout. This will show your interviewers you are genuinely interested in the role. Leave your phone at home – there is nothing more distracting than your phone going off half way through your interview, so it is advisable to leave it at home or turn it off during your interview. Texting during your interview is not only rude and disruptive, but it is a pretty clear message to your potential employer that getting the job is not your top priority. We would also advise not looking at your phone at all whilst in the interview building. It could make you look unengaged and cost you securing the job. Being too negative – never bad-mouth your current/previous employer or co-workers. You may be surprised who your interviewer might know, so think about what you are going to say before talking negatively about past employers. You also do not want the interviewer to think that you might speak that way about his or her company if you leave on terms that are not the best. It is important you make the interviewer know that you can work well with others, without talking behind their back, and this is the perfect opportunity to showcase this attribute. Don’t tell lies – telling the truth about your skills and experience in a job interview may mean losing a position to a better-qualified candidate. But the alternative will come back to haunt you. It is therefore important to keep it real and always tell the truth during your interview. Remember, your interviews will have your CV, your references and will be able to look you up on social media. If you do lie, they will find out. Asking the wrong questions…or none at all! – it is also very important to think about questions to ask your interviewer throughout or at the end of your interview. These should not be standard questions taken from the internet, but instead should be informed questions about the role and the organisation. A job interview not only enables the potential employer to assess your skills and suitability but it also enables the interviewee to assess if this company is in fact a good employer, compatible with your needs. Research typical questions to ask your interviewer, and ensure you tailor these to the role to really show that you have an interest in the company and have taken the time to research your questions. For more tips on performing your best at interview, check out our handy interview guide . Or if you think we have missed any common interview mistakes, let us know by emailing marketing@sellickpartnership.co.uk. Alternatively you can get more tips on smashing your next interview in our handy candidate resources section.