Five mistakes to avoid when finding candidates for key positions

At a time of nearly full employment, recruiting employees who are high performers can be tough. That’s why employers should watch for missteps that can cost them a leading candidate or cause them to hire the wrong person. Such avoidable errors can send the recruitment process back to square one at the company’s expense of valuable time and money.

In order to get the most out of your recruitment efforts and land the candidates you need, plan ahead. When formulating your recruitment strategies, avoid making these mistakes:

1. Assessing only for skills and knowledge – Evaluating a candidate’s skills and qualifications is vital, but so is assessing for personality and compatibility. Yet many companies never do this. Knowing that a candidate is a good fit for both your company and the position will result in a higher placement success rate. See our blog post on recruiting for personality as well as skills.
2. Prolonging the recruitment process – If a recruitment process drags on too long, great candidates are lost and internal projects get delayed. If other employees pick up the slack for too long, morale can suffer. Don’t wait for the perfect candidate who may never materialize. Now, I’m not suggesting you rush through the hiring process either. Obviously, that can have fateful consequences as well. See our blog post on moving quickly when hiring.
3. Using old-school recruitment tools – Ads in the newspaper and on job sites alone is no longer a valid recruitment strategy. Want to find candidates who shine? Post on your social media pages, use specialized search tools, and monitor online professional forums and networking sites. An applicant tracking system can manage the full recruitment process from tracking candidates to organizing resume information to scheduling interviews. See our blog post on recruiting technology used by professional recruiters (aka headhunters).

4. Not checking references – Don’t rely on the interview alone. Check to confirm that candidates are as authentic as they seemed in the interview. In addition to talking with previous supervisors, consider contacting former colleagues for details that candidates don’t share during interviews. See our blog post on checking references before hiring.

5. Overlooking internal candidates – Is it possible a stellar candidate for the position is already within your walls, successfully fulfilling his or her duties every day? Don’t overlook talented people at your company who have excelled and may be ready for more responsibility, perhaps with a little training. They may be able to use the knowledge they have about your organization to perform well at another position. See our blog post on rewarding employees to retain them.

Recruiting employees is hard work—we can help you with that

The ins and outs of recruiting—knowing what not to do, what to do, and how to do it—take considerable time and effort. That’s why seeking a recruiter’s help from the start can save you unnecessary stress and frustration. Recruiting agencies can find candidates who are the best in your industry and substantially increase your odds of a successful placement.

At TriStarr, we use a comprehensive, six-step candidate evaluation process to find candidates who would be the right fit for your business. We assess for personality and compatibility as well as for skills and knowledge, resulting in a high placement success rate and a savings of time and money for our clients.

At Tristarr, we stand by our placements with our Good People Guarantee, which goes into effect if our clients aren’t satisfied with a newly recruited employee. In that case, we replace the person with another candidate at no charge or provide a prorated refund.

TriStarr is a recruitment employment agency in Lancaster, PA. Our experienced recruiters find candidates who are accomplished in their profession and compatible with our hiring companies. Contact us today through our website or call us at 717-560-2111.