Hiring a new employee can be a big challenge. Getting approval, creating a well-written job description and posting it on the job boards are big tasks and once you start interviewing candidates, the pressure only mounts. You want to make sure that you’re prepared to qualify candidates in the interview and don’t make any hiring mistakes. After all, hiring a new employee is not only time-consuming, it can also be a large cost to your company’s bottom line.

To help make sure you’re on your way to finding that right employee, it’s important for you to avoid the following 5 common hiring mistakes.

1. Our culture shouldn’t factor into hiring decisions.

A company’s culture helps to identify certain attributes you should look for in an employee. If your company offers a “start-up” mentality where there is flexibility, collaboration and a more laid-back feel, you shouldn’t be hiring someone who excels in a structured environment and is independent in their work. Bringing in someone who doesn’t fit in with your corporate culture could result in them feeling left out or out of place and not sticking around very long. Ask questions about how they work the best, what kind of environments they enjoy working in and paint a clear picture of your company’s culture.

2. If they want the job, they’ll wait.

In today’s job market, there are more jobs open than there are candidates to fill them. As a result, job seekers are getting multiple offers, quickly. Good for them, but bad for the companies trying to recruit them. If you find that perfect fit candidate, don’t sit on making them an offer. If you wait around too long, your perfect candidate will be gone to another job. You can always hire your second choice but after all the work you’ve put into finding your ideal candidate, you don’t want to lose your first choice because of poor timing.

3. I’ll just offer them a salary I think is right.

Before you even start interviewing, it’s imperative that your job description and job title reflect each other appropriately. Taking the job description, requirements and years of experience into consideration, you should accurately identify the appropriate salary for the job. If your salary or pay rate is too low, you will detract some of the best talent from applying for or accepting your job. Do some research to find the market rate for your position and make sure you are staying close to that range.

4. They look good on paper, so they must be perfect for the job.

Resumes and references are a great way to gain insight into your candidate’s experience. However, there is no better way to understand what potential employees are capable of than having them demonstrate it to you during the interview. If it makes sense for your job opening, make your candidates whiteboard out problems or walk you through issues on a computer. Not only will it give you valuable insight into their skills and abilities, but it will also show you how they work under pressure.

5. I’ll find great candidates on my own.

Recruiting, interviewing and doing all the duties of your normal job can add up to more hours in the day than you have. If you find that your schedule is keeping you from recruiting the way you need to; or if you have been recruiting and just can’t find the right person, you might want to consider using a staffing company. They will do the heavy lifting for you: sourcing quality candidates, conducting phone interviews and going over resumes. They will send their top candidates straight to your inbox where you can pick your top candidates to interview, expediting the whole process.

Hiring the right employees for your team is important to not only your department but your company as well. It’s important to be prepared going into the hiring process to make sure you are ready at every step to qualify the right candidates. Doing so will ultimately find you the perfect fit for the job. Need some help? Contact us.