While it's generally the goal to maintain and enhance your company's reputation during the hiring process, understanding what can go wrong is just as important in preventing these mistakes. By recognizing these pitfalls and avoiding them, you can ensure that your hiring process reflects professionalism, fairness, and respect for candidates, thus protecting your company’s reputation.
Every interaction during the hiring process contributes to how your organization is perceived by potential hires, so treating candidates well—whether they’re hired or not—is crucial for maintaining a positive reputation.
Here are some things to consider in your hiring process:
DO: Respond to candidates and provide feedback during the interview process. Ignoring candidates or not providing updates can lead to frustration which can turn into negative reviews on Glassdoor or LinkedIn.
DON’T: Ghost a candidate. The world is smaller than you think, and the last thing you want to happen is to lose your next great hire because they’re friends or colleagues with someone you ghosted during a previous interview process or were someone you interviewed previously and then ignored.
DO: Utilize a thoughtful, deliberate interview process to get to know the candidate and how they fit within the organization. Make sure they spend time with the right people but don’t add people to an interview simply because they “might” work with the role at some point. Unnecessary interviews or tests without clear justification can make the process feel tedious, impersonal, and overly bureaucratic.
DON’T: Be unprepared or late for an interview. It can make a candidate feel like you don’t take them seriously or value their time.
DO: Make sure everyone who is participating in the interview process is prepared. This is another opportunity for you to sell the role, your team and the company, so it’s important for everyone to create a positive impression. Each interviewer should be prepared with the candidate’s background, a specific goal for the interview and questions to ask to make the most of the time available.
DO: Manage expectations for the role, future growth and compensation at every step of the process, from making sure the job description is accurate to discussing perks like flexible work schedules and ultimately providing a robust offer package.
DON’T: Misrepresent the role or other opportunities just to land your top candidate. In the long run, they likely won’t be happy with the reality and will end up leaving. Even if there are challenges coming into the role, a strong candidate will still take the role and may even be excited about the prospect of solving problems.
DO: Be transparent in everything, from responsibilities to performance management to compensation. It’s important that a candidate understands what is expected in the role and the level of compensation offered for the work.
DON’T: Work with so many external recruiters that there is inconsistent information about the role, company culture and expectations out there. This can make the organization seem disorganized and unprofessional, negatively impacting the company’s brand in the job market.
Every interaction during the hiring process contributes to how your organization is perceived by potential hires, so treating candidates well—whether they’re hired or not—is crucial for maintaining a positive reputation.
Here are some things to consider in your hiring process:
DO: Respond to candidates and provide feedback during the interview process. Ignoring candidates or not providing updates can lead to frustration which can turn into negative reviews on Glassdoor or LinkedIn.
DON’T: Ghost a candidate. The world is smaller than you think, and the last thing you want to happen is to lose your next great hire because they’re friends or colleagues with someone you ghosted during a previous interview process or were someone you interviewed previously and then ignored.
DO: Utilize a thoughtful, deliberate interview process to get to know the candidate and how they fit within the organization. Make sure they spend time with the right people but don’t add people to an interview simply because they “might” work with the role at some point. Unnecessary interviews or tests without clear justification can make the process feel tedious, impersonal, and overly bureaucratic.
DON’T: Be unprepared or late for an interview. It can make a candidate feel like you don’t take them seriously or value their time.
DO: Make sure everyone who is participating in the interview process is prepared. This is another opportunity for you to sell the role, your team and the company, so it’s important for everyone to create a positive impression. Each interviewer should be prepared with the candidate’s background, a specific goal for the interview and questions to ask to make the most of the time available.
DO: Manage expectations for the role, future growth and compensation at every step of the process, from making sure the job description is accurate to discussing perks like flexible work schedules and ultimately providing a robust offer package.
DON’T: Misrepresent the role or other opportunities just to land your top candidate. In the long run, they likely won’t be happy with the reality and will end up leaving. Even if there are challenges coming into the role, a strong candidate will still take the role and may even be excited about the prospect of solving problems.
DO: Be transparent in everything, from responsibilities to performance management to compensation. It’s important that a candidate understands what is expected in the role and the level of compensation offered for the work.
DON’T: Work with so many external recruiters that there is inconsistent information about the role, company culture and expectations out there. This can make the organization seem disorganized and unprofessional, negatively impacting the company’s brand in the job market.
More by the Andrews & Cole Team
Andrews & Cole is a certified woman-owned boutique executive search and consulting firm with a focus on accounting and finance professionals. Clients range from start ups to Fortune 100 in nearly every industry.
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