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Hiring Red Flags

According to CareerBuilder, nearly three in four small business owners admit to hiring the wrong person for a position.

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    Hiring Red Flags

    Hiring Red Flags

    The hiring process is an extremely important one as it directly impacts the success of a business.  Of late, it is critical to consider when, why and how to hire the best candidates, but how do you ensure you’re hiring the right person?  According to CareerBuilder, nearly three in four small business owners admit to hiring the wrong person for a position. The leading reasons cited are:

    1. A candidate not having the needed skills and thinking the candidate could learn them quickly (36%)
    2. The employer took a chance on a nice person (32%)
    3. A candidate lied about his or her qualifications (31%)1

    Red flags that may point to a bad hire can arise either on the candidate’s resume, in which case the hiring manager can save his or her time from conducting an interview, or during the interview process itself.

    Resume Red Flags

    There are several key warning signs revealed on an individual’s resume, including:

    • Inconsistent Job History—Changing jobs frequently may indicate that the candidate gets easily bored or is unable to work with a team, take direction or has a low tolerance for adversity.
    • Overqualified Credentials and Experience—While many good workers have taken small steps backward during their careers, an overqualified worker may stay with an employer only as long as it takes to find a position commensurate with his or her experience.
    • Resume Errors and Typos—These exhibit a lack of attention to detail or care about making a good first impression. If someone doesn’t have the energy to put his or her best foot forward, then it seems unlikely he or she will bring his or her best efforts to the job.

    Interview Red Flags

    The candidate passed the resume review process.  Next comes the interview, which is crucial to get a good read on a potential hire. Here are some things to look for…

    • Lack of eye contact during the interview can indicate confidence issues, which means they don’t feel like they can meet the demands of the job or they have something to hide.
    • Vagueness in describing work responsibilities or in their responses to technical and behavioral questions may suggest the candidate is exaggerating his or her background and skills.
    • Rescheduling or arriving late to the interview shows poor planning skills or lack of enthusiasm about the role.
    • Badmouthing employers or co-workers is unprofessional and may be indicative of how well a candidate will integrate into a new team.

    One key objective of the interview is to determine if the candidate would be a great fit for the company, so have a conversation—make it about the employer, the job and the candidate. Hiring managers should trust their instinct about people.

    And, if good candidates are hard to find, enlist the help of employees who may know great workers just like themselves.  Understanding how to attract and retain employees could also be useful.

    Sources:

    1. https://resources.careerbuilder.com/small-business/survey-3-in-4-small-business-employers-have-hired-the-wrong-person#:~:text=You’re%20far%20from%20alone,they’re%20costly%20as%20well.

    Please reference disclosures: https://blog.americanportfolios.com/disclosures/

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    Vice President of Human Resources 
    631.439.4600, ext. 280 

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