Recruiters and Hiring Managers – Are You making these Mistakes?

While recruiters typically make life easier for hiring managers and candidates, there are quirks and habits of recruiting professionals that we could do without. Here are some examples that Recruiters and Hiring Managers must stop making in order to potentially make them miss out on talent:

Experience does matter, and depending on the industry or specific role it can be a crucial factor. However, requiring that a candidate for a marketing role have 8 years of experience in the banking sector makes little sense when skills and experience from other industries can quickly translate and even add new insight and perspective. Besides, who is to say an accountant with 10 years of experience will be a better employee than one with seven?

Widen the range of years of experience and consider candidates that show they can solve problems, come up with new ideas, and display awareness and curiosity about your business and industry.

With the flood of information out there about different generations of workers and their unique characteristics, it’s little surprise that recruiters can sometimes draw quick conclusions about the potential practicality of a candidate. Yet carrying generational or other stereotypes is not just risky from a legal and ethical standpoint, it can lead to missing out on a great candidate who is uniquely positioned to fill a role. If a candidate made a poor impression with a sloppy resume or other misstep, it could be a clear red flag to an experienced recruiter.

However, if the only apparent downside to considering a candidate is their educational institute, age, or some aspect of their work experience, then it may be time to take a second look.

There’s an old saying, “I can teach the skills but can’t create talent or potential.” This often goes for recruiting for the workplace — particularly positions with a strong technical component, certain skills are a necessity. Yet, there are many jobs that require some fundamental skills and baseline knowledge, but not full-blown expertise in a specific skill.

For instance, overlooking someone who is clearly tech-savvy and shows considerable potential but they are not an expert at Excel is short-sighted. It also limits the quality candidates that may be the best fit for a role.

If a candidate shows clear protentional in being able to learn the skills and has transferable experience and skills in the past, they should not be overlooked.

By keeping an open mind and taking a chance to learn more about a candidate, a good recruiter may find the perfect fit for the role.

There is nothing more frustrating for a candidate than to participate in an interview and not get a response when the appropriate time comes to follow up on the process. Non-responsiveness not only runs the risk of losing out on potential hires, it can hurt a recruiter’s reputation. As a recruiter, if you know upfront that providing timely updates will be a challenge, then make it clear to the candidate at the time of the interview.

There are countless articles that highlight the ways employees and job candidates misuse social media to seek employment. Unfortunately, recruiters are guilty of social media slip-ups as well, with missteps like spamming, not specifying a target audience, and lacking a social media strategy altogether.

Research has shown that most online users are not actively looking for a job, so recruiters should use the targeted approach to connect with future prospects through other channels. By cultivating ongoing online connections, recruiters will be better equipped to attract and hire the right candidates at the right time.