Why your hiring process sucks, and what to do about it

Modern workers are – how should we put it? – a little bit fussy when it comes to taking a job. In the past, people were just happy that they were getting paid. But today, new recruits want more than that. They want to know that they are going to a company with a good reputation, one that will help them get closer to their long-term goals and has an excellent reputation.

But for some companies, making a good job of the hiring process is easier said than done. They struggle to attract high-quality, talented individuals, and, as a result, lose out. Here’s how to improve your hiring process.

Write Amazing Job Descriptions

You might think that writing a job description was an easy task. But even small mistakes or things that aren’t clear can put people off from applying.

Researchers in Canada and the US recently did a study investigating the effect of detailed job descriptions with long lists of responsibilities and found that these types of descriptions actually alienated talented and bright employees. The reason for this was twofold. For one, because job descriptions tend to be so job-specific, it’s very unlikely that you’ll find anybody who has the ability to do all of the tasks on the list, straight off. They’re going to need some training or some time to gain experience. The second reason is that long lists of job descriptions don’t tell future employees what they can get out of the company. As a result, they’re more likely to be attracted to another position where the benefits are more explicit.

The researchers suggest that companies who want to attract top talent include all of the things that the firm can offer employees, selling the job in the process.

Start-Automating Applications

Right now the job market is highly fluid. As a result, you’re likely to get many applications for a single position. Somehow you have to track all those applications and not miss anybody out in the process. Doing this by hand is virtually impossible, but it can be made a lot easier through the use of applicant tracking systems. These systems can then be used to do things like store applications, do remote recruiting and streamline the hiring process.

Work On Your Interviews

According to a study by Leadership IQ, around four-fifths of hiring managers said that there were problems in their interview process. Many reported that they were too rushed for time to do a good job, or that they lacked the confidence to pursue “red flags” exhibited by candidates. The authors of the study suggested that the reason for this was probably down to the fact that interviewers don’t typically focus on other factors that are critical to employee success. Instead, they zero in on whether a person can perform a particular function, without an eye to developing an individual or looking for whether they have the right attitude. Businesses can dramatically improve their hiring processes by looking at the character and abilities of the whole person, not whether they are able to perform one particular task or another in isolation.

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