5 Common Mistakes Recruiters Make in Job Interviews 

Recruiting new employees? — Be careful not to fall into one of the five most common mistakes in recruiting.

Many recruiters tend to forget that a job interview is a two-sided path. Examination of overall behavior and way of conduct doesn’t only occur from the recruiter’s side but also from the candidate’s side as he is evaluating the company as well.

A job interview that isn’t conducted properly, may lead to disqualification of the workplace by the interviewee because it raises concerns regarding future interactions and the attitude he will receive later on as an employee.

Therefore, making a positive first impression and performing actions that sends a message about the way in which the organization treats its workers and the overall environment should also be a top priority of the interviewer, so that every job interview will be conducted in the best way and will reflect the value of the company.

The most common mistakes interviewers should avoid making:

Apart from the obvious guidelines that should be a part in any professional activity of a properly conducted recruitment process, (for example: being distracted during the interview with unrelated subjects, not paying attention, inserting unrelated comments, not listening, etc.) There are far bigger mistakes that don’t receive focus and sometimes seem reasonable or legitimate — but may seriously harm the company’s reputation and professionalism in the eyes of the potential candidate.

Recruiters and managers that don’t wish to lose great potential candidates should avoid making these 5 common mistakes:

1. Making judgments based only on check box criteria or on a single wrong answer

Life isn’t black or white, one or zero; therefore we should evaluate our candidates based on a wide range of ratings and indicators. It’s a mistake to disqualify a candidate just because he received a diploma from a community college and not from an Ivy League institute or because he answered a single question incorrectly.

If you decided to invite the candidate for a personal interview face to face, he must have met a certain standard, therefore, it’s only appropriate that you examine the applicant in a discretionary manner, focusing on his personal suitability for the role.

2. A lack of in-depth preparation for the job interview

The recruitment process is the largest time-consuming activity in human resources, but this does not mean that the company should try to cut costs or under-invest in a proper recruiting process. Not only should the candidate prepare for the interview but also the interviewer. a good impression cannot be formed if, for example, the candidate enters the room while the interviewer is reading his resume or even worse if he doesn’t know for which position the candidate is applying for. On the other hand, the preparation should, of course, include the formulation of the job and the job requirements.

3. Interview is a give and take situation

Naturally, during the interview, the interviewer is in a higher position than the candidate.

However, that does not mean that the interviewer is really in a position to act in a superior way to the interviewee. Real talent should be attracted and convinced by the organization and not the opposite.

The top candidates are courted by other companies and have diverse employment options, the interviewer’s role in these cases is not only to examine the suitability of the interviewee for the job position but also to convince him to choose your organization over others.
Create a good and inviting environment and give the candidate a platform in which he could be himself and feel comfortable. Don’t exaggerate in an investigation and as a basic rule of thumb, refrain from interrupting the candidate when he’s talking, be a good listener.

The interviewer is leading the interview, but you have to remember the goal — getting to know the candidate.

4. Losing control over the interview

The interview should be targeted rather than scatter in different directions. Focus your questions on the candidate’s professional experience and suitability and introduce and explain to the candidate about your company and the position. Make a time frame for the interview and leave time for questions from the interviewee. Leave all the personal stories and small talk for later.

5. Avoid from exaggerating and over embellishing what doesn’t exist

In an attempt to bring the top talents, recruiters exaggerate and glorify the responsibilities and activities of the job, but this is the wrong approach because it leads to a recruiting process that will end shortly and will only cause disappointment.

An employee that will start working on the basis of data that is not true and develop role expectations will quickly find out the truth causing the recruiter to miss the whole purpose and that means the recruiter failed in doing a good job.
Yes, it’s true that in order to recruit and convince your candidate to join your company you have to “sell” him the job position but you don’t need to overstate it. Include the benefits, but it is also important to talk about the less flashy sides of the position. Remember, transparency and integrity is the key.

The article was written by SQLink who specializes in recruiting talents for startups in the Hi-tech industry: www.SQLink.com