3 Key Questions to Identify the Problem Parts of Your Hiring Process

The hiring process is not easy for anyone – including recruiters and hiring managers.

There is a lot of pressure placed on your shoulders when you are responsible for finding new talent that will hopefully help your business grow and succeed. Unfortunately, the wrong choice here can have extremely negative effects, including lost revenue and decreased morale – not to mention all of the time that it will take to recruit and hire a replacement.

Finding the perfect candidate for your company is by no means an easy task. But if you’ve noticed that your hiring team has had a particularly difficult time recruiting great talent, you may need to re-evaluate.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if your hiring process could use a tune-up.

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1. How Are You Finding Your Candidates?

 

Is your team struggling because it has too few candidates to interview? Or because they are inundated with an overwhelming number of unqualified applicants?

The reason for both of these issues may be related to the way you are marketing your available positions and sourcing candidates.

Job posting sites are typically the most common go-to spots for recruiters, and for good reason. According to a study from Clutch, 41% of candidates applied for their current role through an online job board, like Indeed or Career Builder.

Now, recruiters should not just be putting all of their eggs in one basket by only promoting job opportunities on the most popular sites.

Social media is becoming increasingly popular for finding new talent. The same Clutch report also indicates that 14% of job-seekers found a new opportunity through a social network. So, if you are having trouble sourcing qualified candidates from the traditional platforms, it may be a sign that you need to branch out and utilize other methods.

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Rather than just pulling a “post and pray” approach to job sourcing, your recruiters should be actively engaging with candidates and looking for new ways to connect with wider applicant pools.

Even though less popular sites may not drive in as many candidates, it could help you connect with more qualified ones, which is what really matters.

1. What Kinds of Questions Are You Asking?

 

You want to find someone who is interested in your company for much more than just a paycheck stub. If your team has made some less-than-perfect hiring decisions in the past, you may need to reflect on whether or not the questions you are asking during the interview are truly helping you get to know them (before giving them a job offer).

One common mistake that interviewers make is simply going over a person’s resume and assuming that the piece of paper tells them ALL they need to know. The reality is that there is so much more to a great employee than their past experience.

A great team member is also a person whose personality meshes well with co-workers and also aspires to help the company grow and succeed.

This means you need to ask questions that gauge personality, goals, and morals, not just about past experience and knowledge. One great way to do this is to ask for specific examples that showcased the applicant’s soft skills.

For instance, try asking questions like:

 

• When was a time that you had to step up and take leadership for a group or team?
• What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned in your past work experience and how did it change how you work today?
• What is a way that you have turned one of your “weaknesses” into a strength?

 

Remember too that you may need to ask some rather uncomfortable questions during the interview to really learn about candidates. The goal is to get an honest opinion about working for your company long-term and what their ultimate career goals and motives are.

1. How Do You Decide on a Salary Offer?

 

One of the most common reasons why a candidate will turn down a job offer is due to a salary that is lower than expected. It’s never easy to discuss salary and benefits packages, but companies should be doing all that they can to offer their employees fair payment.

If you’ve noticed that a multitude of previously-interested candidates turn down a position once their salary is discussed, you may need to rethink the conversation.

First of all, how is your hiring team concluding on a fair offer?

Companies need to keep in mind the rising cost of living as well as the industry averages for various positions. It is not fair to base the salary on what was offered for the same position several years ago.

Furthermore, it is necessary to bring your specific candidate’s experience into consideration. If they have been consistently promoted at other positions and have a long list of qualifications, they should be compensated appropriately.

Recruiters should also consider their methods of presenting the salary offer to candidates. If they are phrasing it as an apology or with an excuse for a low-ball offer, candidates are most likely going to turn it down. For instance, which sounds better:

“I’m sorry but our budgets are tight, so we are only able to offer you $50,000 as your starting salary. Maybe we can renegotiate after a year or so.”

Or

“Based on your experience, we would be willing to offer you a starting salary of $50,000. We will evaluate your performance over the upcoming year and then re-negotiate.”

 

The very phrasing can have a significant impact on the candidate’s perception of the job offer. If your business also includes a benefit program, be sure to explain what it entails, as well as the breakdown per paycheck so that candidates have an accurate expectation of their earnings.

Conclusion

 

Although they may not want to admit it, sometimes even the best recruiters may be making mistakes that are actually hurting their company’s hiring efforts. Recruiting is a tricky process, and good talent is not always easy to find.

But, your hiring team may be standing in their own way if they are not able to evaluate their methods and make the necessary changes for improvement.

Be sure to sit down with your hiring team and see whether or not they can improve in any of these three key areas. With a little self-reflection and openness to new ideas, your company could be on their way to hiring better talent than ever before.

 

Author Bio

 

Manish Dudharejia is the President and Founder of E2M Solutions Inc, a San Diego Based Digital Agency that specializes in Website Design & Development and eCommerce SEO. With over 10 years of experience in the Technology and Digital Marketing industry, Manish is passionate about helping online businesses to take their branding to the next level.