Just like candidates put quite some time and effort in preparing an interview, as an employer there are also certain things you need to prepare. And apart from preparing each individual interview, there are some common mistakes that employers tend to make during interviews that you should aim to avoid in your selection process. Here are our top 5 common mistakes:
- Not using behavioral interview questioning
We have discussed the importance of behavioral interview questioning before on this blog, but this is one of the most common mistakes employers can make during interviews. It is very easy to just ask normal interview questions focusing high level on a candidate´s resume or background, however, it will probably also only give you high-level insights or standard answers that the candidate has rehearsed. Therefore, always dig deeper and ask for examples of how the candidate handled certain situations to get better insights on their behavior in such situations. This will tell you much more about their suitability for the role.
- Focusing too much on personal fit
Some interviewers have the tendency to let personal fit overshadow experience and capabilities. They focus in the interview on the personal connection they establish with the candidate, if they would like to work with this person or if they could see themselves going for an after-work drink with this applicant. And although personal fit is of course very important, one should not just focus on becoming buddies during the interview and completely forget about whether they have the right skills and experience for the job.
- Not focusing at all on personal fit
This may sound contrary, but not focusing at all on personal is not right either. Another common mistake is to only look at experience and skills, without analyzing sufficiently whether the candidate actually will fit in well with the company culture. Therefore, don´t only focus on experience and skills either, because skills can be taught whereas personal fit usually cannot. Hence, even if a person has the best possible resume for the position you are recruiting for, if they don´t fit in well in the company culture, it is probably not going to work out.
- Rely on one interview
This is a classic mistake as well, sometimes employers like what they see in one interview so much that they decide to just go ahead and make a decision. However, two people often know more than one, so don´t just rely on the opinion of one interviewer from one interview. Also, especially if you are hiring for more senior positions, it might be wise to not just use interviews but also, for example, personality testing or presentations to assess whether this would be a good fit or not.
- Fail to follow-up
This one is very annoying for candidates, so make sure you always follow-up after an interview. At the end of the interview, inform if the candidate is still interested in the position and also let them know what they can expect in terms of feedback and possible next steps. This will manage their expectations. However, it is extremely important to also follow-up on your promises and actually provide information on feedback and next steps within the timeline you indicated. It can be extremely disappointing for candidates to not hear back when they expect to hear back or to not hear back at all.
These are just a few examples of common mistakes that employers make during and after interviews, of course, there are many more, but if you get started with putting some effort in avoiding these 5 mistakes, it will go a long way. What other common mistakes do you think employers make during interviews? We would love to read about it in the comments!
