Most hiring managers have only the best intentions. There’s not one I’ve met who doesn’t want to do the right thing as they kick off a new hiring process.
And why shouldn’t they? A successful hiring process brings in strong new skills, energy and perspective. It also lightens the load for a team and, hopefully, allows the group to more effectively deliver on its objectives.
But creating the right environment to attract and land a new hire is not an easy task. It takes real focus, discipline and a planned communication strategy.
It also takes ownership.
And the dedication of time and energy to prepare the organization for the process.
Some hiring managers work for a large company and have the benefit of a highly supportive HR group. Others hiring managers work for a small, more entrepreneurial organization. And are left to do their best to frame and recruit a new role.
I’ve met with and discussed hiring practices with a lot of hiring managers. And there are mistakes we’ve all made. Mistakes that hurt the hiring company, any outside recruiting firm involved, and of course, the candidate.
And they come back to bite you. With a strong jaw and sharp teeth that leave a mark.
So, from my perspective, here are the 7 deadly sins of good hiring managers:
1. Using A Generic Job Description – I’m not saying there aren’t places to start. And often times there are similar internal positions with a description already in place. I know you are busy. But your job is rarely the same as the job is Department C. Agree? So take the time to create a unique job description. One that you can confidently share with your interview team. And use as a true measure of the candidate value. Doing so gets you prepared. Don’t be like #3 in my post re: interviewer styles. So the sin here is relying solely on a pre-written version of the job you need to fill.
2. Letting Someone Else Choose Your Interview Team – In the end, the hiring decision is likely yours. But there will be influencers. Strong ones from above, suggestions from peers and reactions from potential direct reports and other staff. You should be the one deciding who meets with your potential new team member. Do you want the social or the serious meeting your candidates? If your company has trained interview teams, see if you can get a few extras on the list. People who know you, your management style and will really dig in on issues that are important to you. The sin here is being lazy and letting someone else decide who will either confirm your choice or provide you another perspective.
3. Not Publishing An Interview Schedule – You’ll need it to brief your interview team and to prepare the organization (alerting front desk staff, booking conference rooms, etc). It is also a great help to the candidate. To know who they’ll be meeting with each hour. It will make everyone’s day more productive and enable a more conversational interview. The sin here is keeping the interview team a secret to the candidate.
4. Forgetting To Brief Interview Your Team – Just like I suggest job seekers spend time preparing references for a conversation with the hiring manager, so too should you prep your interview team. It starts with a copy of the well-written job description and copies of the candidate resume (or resumes if you have your interview team meeting with multiple candidates). It also should include an interview schedule (above), a list of target candidate characteristics (energy, innovation, detail orientation) and one particular aspect of the job description whereyou’d like each interviewer to focus. The sin is letting everyone decide for themselves what is important to you.
5. Leaving Candidates Out In The Cold – You may have read my story (and many others in the comments) about poor care and feeding of candidates. Even in a buyer’s market, the hiring manager still is responsible ultimately to show the candidate a deserved level of respect and courtesy. If you leave a candidate out in the cold, you put your company’s reputation at risk. So the sin here is leaving this job to HR and assuming someone else will make sure the candidate leaves with a positive impression.
6. Not Really Knowing What You Want – So many interviews are simply a list of typical questions. And well-meaning candidates memorize answers to the top 20 questions. The exchange leaves a general impression but often doesn’t answer the key question. Is this person the right one t0 __________ (support our sales team, create innovative new products, create a new distribution effort)? You need to make a specific list of questions for each job and, importantly, create a second list of answers that you want to receive. Without the second list, how do you know when you’ve found the right person? So, as with networking, you need to work with a purpose. The sin here is performing well-meaning but un-productive interviews.
7. Not Following Up Same Day With The Candidates And Your Interview Team – To me, as the hiring manager, the best interview days finished with two types of meetings. (1) A quick final meet-up (5 minutes) with each candidate. Or perhaps your top 2 from the day. To get one last impression, reinforce your first reaction and help reduce the risk of hiring a new person. And to get a sense of their demeanor and energy after meeting with others. (2) An end of day meeting with the entire interview team. Pre-scheduled so that everyone can be there. A chance to get immediate reactions. And to hear back from each who had a specific point in the job description on which to focus. If you really want everyone’s feedback, make sure you schedule time to get it. The sin here is losing fresh impressions and allowing the process to stall without a next step decision.
OK, now you have my 7 sins of good hiring managers. But I’d like to get at least 10 here. So . . .
- What is the one sin you’ve made as a hiring manager?
- And as a job seeker, what sins have you seen being committed?
- If you are a recruiter or HR manager, what have you seen?
As always, I look forward to your feedback.