Whether companies are hiring Boomers, Generation X or Y, managers keep making the same mistakes when interviewing candidates. These mistakes result in low productivity, increased turnover, and poor employee morale. Ten of the most common mistakes and tips on how to avoid them are outlined below.



1. Making up your mind within minutes of meeting the candidate. A recent study at Toledo University indicated that the interviewers made up their minds within thirty seconds of meeting the candidates. By the time that they had shook hands, exchanged a few pleasantries and sat down, the interviewer's mind was made up. The rest of the interview was a ritual designed to confirm the interviewer's first impression.

Tip: Next time you interview a candidate try to delay your first impression until they have answered at least three questions.

2. The Halo Effect: Letting one factor (e.g. Harvard graduate, worked for your top competitor) influence everything else. Not everyone who has graduated from Harvard has excelled in the business world, and your top competitor has probably hired their fair share of duds.

Tip: Create a weighted scoring sheet for the candidate listing 5-10 success factors that are desired for the job, such as attention to detail or ability to persuade others. Score all candidates on the same scale. You will probably not find ?Harvard graduate? among your success factors.

3. Asking predictable, opinion-based questions: When you ask questions like ?what are your strengths and weaknesses? or ?where do you hope to be in five years?? you are really saying to the candidate: ?please lie to me?.

Tip: Do not encourage candidates to tell you what you want to hear. Shift your focus to questions that explore how they have behaved in past situations.

4. Over-selling the position. When we see a candidate who really excites us we tend to present the job in a way that they will find appealing. For example, if we're interviewing an energetic, assertive person for an administrative support role, we may build up the autonomy and opportunities for advancement that the position provides, when what the job really requires is someone to update your CRM all day long.

Tip: Provide a Realistic Job Preview. Once you have sold the candidate on the opportunity, tell them the two things that they will find least attractive about the job, such as dealing with irate customers, or working weekends to meet deadlines.

5. Allow self-screening. There will be some candidates who, although qualified to do the job, may not be a good fit at this time for a variety of reasons. Some will recognize it and bow out of the interviewing process, others will not, taking up valuable time and energy, and possibly even accepting the job offer.

Tip: Give the candidate an opportunity to self-screen without having to reject you personally. Say something like, ?We are impressed with your qualifications, but maybe this is not a good fit for you at this time. Call me Friday afternoon if you are still interested. If I don't hear from you, no hard feelings?.

6. Being unprepared. By not reviewing a candidate's resume until he is in reception, or, if you ask questions that are clearly answered on his resume, you are sending a negative message: I don't care; you are a low priority; I'll treat you the same way once you start working here.

Tip: Remember that the most sought after candidates are evaluating you against their other opportunities. Build rapport by focusing on their accomplishments and interests. Impress them with your knowledge of their past and the thoroughness of your interviewing process.

7. Relying solely on the interview: You can never eliminate your biases completely. As human beings, we are wired to make snap judgments based on gut feel and we need to challenge our instincts with more objective measures.

Tip: A growing number of companies are using pre-employment assessments to get a second look at candidates. With the rise of the internet, they are affordable and easy-to-use. To complete a sample pre-employment assessment contact mgravelle@mcquaig.com .

8. Not determining the job requirements. Line managers typically do not take the time to chart out their job requirements, preferring to take an ?I'll know it when I see it? attitude when interviewing.

Tip: If you don't know what you are looking for, you will not find it. Record the key behaviors that will lead to success and spend time developing questions that will lead to seek past examples of the candidate demonstrating that behavior.

9. Placing an over-emphasis on past experience. Traditionally, companies have focused on candidates? past experience, education and technical qualifications. However, with jobs changing as rapidly as they are, there is a reduced shelf-life of a person's skill sets.

Tip: Hire for potential not skill. Conduct a job analysis and determine what skills are trainable and which ones are not. Divide qualifications in to must haves and desirables. The more qualities that you can move into the desirable column the more you open up the candidate funnel.

10. Asking Leading Questions. For example, ?This place really becomes a pressure cooker at quarter-end. Can you work under pressure??

Tip: Ask open-ended questions and keep quiet during the responses.

In summary, the interview process is one that is chock-full of subjectivity and personal bias. Companies have to work to reduce that bias by developing a more systematic process, which leads to better hiring decisions. Making good hiring decisions has little to do with being a good judge of character. Anyone can do it with the right tools.