Mistakes that hiring managers do during interviews

When we think of interviews, we often think that hiring managers know exactly what they are doing, and they think that they are doing it right. This might be true for seasoned hiring managers, but for those who are just new in the management role, conducting interviews is really something that we are not taught how to do.

Regardless if you are a seasoned hiring manager or new to your role you might be able to learn a thing or two from this. Here are the TOP 5 Mistakes to avoid during the interview – A Recruiter’s humble advice.

1.      Self-Introduction

One of the first questions that hiring managers ask during the interview is for the candidate to introduce themselves. However, most hiring managers don’t even realize that they did not do a proper introduction about themselves, the team, and the company. The truth is, we can’t always expect candidates to do research about your company. And even if they did, you can’t expect them to know everything.

My advice is to spend 2-5 mins going through your background, what do you do, what does your team do and what your company is all about.

By spending 2-5 mins of your time, it can drastically change the flow of the entire conversation and it may positively affect the interest level of the candidate.

Remember, candidates also holds the power to decide which company they want to work with.

When you make a good impression, you are increasing your chances of the candidate saying “Yes” before you even make an offer.

2.      Not setting expectations

Right after your self-introduction, spend 2 minutes to set the rules of the game. Setting expectations during the interview will also dramatically change the course of the interview.

But expectations can you actually set? Here’s an example;

“Hi Candidate, thank you for having the time in attending this interview. Today, we would like to assess your skills in the areas of ABC and we will be asking you technical questions to understand your knowledge and experience. If we ask you questions that you don’t know, just say you don’t know. We may also interrupt you from time to time to ask follow up questions.

So relax and treat this like a normal conversation with your colleague or your senior.”

By doing this, it almost automatically makes the candidate prepared for whatever questions you might ask as well as relaxed, knowing what the flow of the interview is going to be.

The idea is you want the candidates to perform at their 100%. When people are under less stress, they can think clearly and more compose.

3.      Not turning on your camera

This is self-explanatory, and I don’t really have to spell it out for you. But here’s a food for thought. As hiring managers, you represent your company. You will be the face of your organization and whatever you do, regardless of if its right or wrong, will reflect your organization in the marketplace.

You get to decide how the market will view your company based on the experiences of the people that your work with, hire and interview.

4.      Not giving feedback

Hiring process is not only limited to identifying the best candidate. It is also about providing the best recruitment experience to those candidates who didn’t make it. The best way to do it is to give your decision or feedback either directly to the candidate or through your recruiter.

The best hiring managers I’ve ever worked with takes the time to write a simple and short feedback to rejected candidates and lay out what they can improve on.

Here's an example:

“Dear candidate, I enjoyed our discussion earlier and I got the opportunity to meet you and learn more about you. As we conclude our conversation, I realized that our business need is leaning towards someone with stronger skills in the area of ABC.

I would like to thank you for your time and interest with us and I would strongly recommend you to improve your skills in those areas and perhaps we can revisit your application in 12 months’ time”

5.      Being too serious in the interview

Interviews are not meant to be an interrogation but a conversation to see suitability of the candidate to you team, culture, skillset, and vision. We have to make interviews an open sharing session rather than a typical Q&A to really get the most out of it.

For more tips and articles like this, you may follow me on LinkedIn and if you have questions, feel free to reach me at joe.nuevo@adecco.com