Recruiting teams use different strategies to find the most suitable candidate. Hiring talent takes around 36 working days (source: SHRM). It is a combination of creativity and diligence.

So, let’s learn how we can minimize the risk of a bad hire.

How can you minimize the risk of a bad hire?

The most important and easiest way to minimize the risk is by writing very specific job descriptions. It’s the first & foremost thing any candidate will like to see. It decides what kind of candidate is going to apply or approach the organization for the role.

If the job description is vague, the applicants who are in urgent need of the job would apply mindlessly but they might not be the right fit for the organization or the role.

According to Officevibe Report, 75% of the job candidates are not looking for a job which means only 25% are looking. The interesting thing is people who are not looking will find you and would like to work with you if the job description is very specific.

Now, once you write specific job descriptions, what you need is to make a plan to select the best fit.

Let’s see how you can do that.

7 steps you can take to enhance your efforts (& luck)

1. Treat candidates like your customers:

• Sell the company and the role to the candidates, share what your mission is, tell candidates how they can grow with the team & individually, show them the company culture & be the best marketing person & sell it.
• Be respectful of their time: Always show up on time and make sure to inform the candidate in advance if you are going to be late.
• Be hospitable: If a candidate comes for an onsite interview, make them feel welcome & comfortable.
• Be available: Share relevant contact information with the potential candidates.

2. Ask questions:

• Ask for the context whenever needed - Let them know the more specific they are, the more insightful their answers will be.
• Ask relevant questions related to their hobbies & side projects if they have any - you get to know about their personality.
• Ask questions about their last profile & company - their responses give away their voice & the way they work with the team.
• Ask generic questions but reframe them based on the individual’s profile assessment.

Akash has already explained the importance of asking questions, check it out - Don't underestimate the Power of Asking

3. Levarage social media:

• Referrals from your network build a sense of trust between the recruiter & the candidate. Social media allows having that ‘trust’ & also a pool of candidates to find the best fit.
• 79% of the job applicants use social media (source: Glassdoor) which means you can check out their previous projects & involvement to get to know them better.
• You get to know about their leadership potential - see how they are reacting on social media & how open they are with the criticism, and feedback.
• 70% of the hiring managers hired employees through social media (source: Georemotely).

We have already discussed how networking can help, check it out - Your network == Your lifeline

4. Employee referral program:

• Implement the program - great people usually surround themselves with other capable professionals.
• An incentive added to the referral gives a push to the employees to refer the best talent from their network.

5. Be prepared to answer candidates’ questions:

• Be sure to provide as much information as they need to choose your team.
• Talk about the specific points they asked, and answer the questions in a way that could not only satisfy the candidate but also make it exciting for them to join the organization.
• If the candidate asks for something which is out of your scope, make sure to provide that information later.

6. Be prepared to pay well for top talent:

• If you have found the right fit, then don’t make a fuss about the pay.
• Remember that the cost of hiring the wrong talent is too high, it will take money & time to hire a replacement.
• Be sure to add the benefits as required to not let the talent go somewhere else.

7. Be transparent:

• You should be clear about what you are looking for, and what the company and role expect from the candidate.
• Be transparent & upfront about the hiring process & how one candidate is going to be assessed.
• If you are looking for a particular skill set, talk about it in advance.
• Transparent about the company culture.
• Be open about what a day of “xyz” looks like - show them or connect them with the team they are going to work with.
• Make sure to analyze the candidates’ teamwork and leadership qualities.

Peerlist has made hiring easy, you get to connect with potential candidates, and it’s a one-stop for finding candidates and their proof of work.

Bonus —

1. Don’t compromise on cultural fit for technical skills:

   • According to LinkedIn reports, 89% of the hiring executives say bad hires often lack soft skills.
   • Bad hiring costs around 30% of employees’ first-year earnings to the company.

2. Avoid hiring people who are not willing to take risks:

   • Success means taking relevant risks.
   • Select someone who is willing to take an initiative and doesn’t shy away from the risks.

3. Avoid hiring people based on their fancy university:

   • Better to have a conversation first before rejecting someone’s resume based on their university.
   • Try to use some different filters like - project-based or some technical skills based.
   • You might miss out on some great talent if you go with the fancy university name.

4. Try to close the candidate as soon as possible:

   • Don’t make the process tiring and uninteresting for the candidates.
   • Make sure to keep them excited about the role & company so that they can add more value.

The above-mentioned tips are tested by some reputed recruiters (& some of my friends from the same role) if you have some other steps we all should know about, mention them in the comment.