5 Issues Hiring Managers Need to Fix
By: Mike Jeffery
Tags: Technology, Leadership, Hiring, HR

I’ve been managing and hiring development teams for over 5 years now. The more I do it, the more I realize how much I love it. Last year I had the full time job of looking for a new job. During that process, a few things stood out that made the whole process super frustrating. I also realized I was guilty of the issues I was complaining about.

Hiring people is mentally exhausting, time consuming, and frustrating at times. Writing job descriptions, posting the position, reviewing resumes, conducting phone and in-person interviews, making rejection calls and/or sending rejection emails, making offers and negotiating. When you have dozens of people applying, the initial hiring process can consume most of your days, which doesn’t include the onboarding process. Many hiring managers, don’t seem to take the entire process seriously. To many, it’s just another thing you have to do with everything else you have on your plate.

Have you, as a hiring manager, taken a few minutes to think about what the candidates are going through? Searching for jobs, networking, writing and refining resumes, applying for jobs, writing cover letter after cover letter, sending follow-up emails, researching organizations, sitting in the dark on the status of their application, handling the stress of rejection, interviews and preparing for interviews, and keeping at it day after day after day.

After I started this post, I realized there were a lot of things I could improve on with hiring. Here are what I see as the 5 of the top things every hiring manager or HR person should focus on.

“You’re not just recruiting employees, but are sowing the seeds of your reputation.”

1- Keep Candidates Updated

As a hiring manager, you’re busy, we understand, but the success of your hiring campaign requires that you make it one of your top priorities. People want to know what’s going on. Where’s my food, what’s taking so long, when will my car be ready, will I hear back from that company?

As a hiring manager you have to make the hiring process one of your top priorities. You should spend time every day ensuring you’re not holding up the process and that it’s always moving forward.

“More than two-thirds of professionals said they would lose interest in a job if there was no follow-up within two weeks of an interview.” — Robert Half 2018 Salary Guide

If you say you’re going to get back to them by a specific date or time, get back to them by that time promised. If you don’t have the information you wanted to get them, let them know it’s taking longer than expected. At least they know what’s going on and not freaking out.

2- Stay Awhile and Listen

When conducting an interview, try letting the candidate talk. I’ve been in quite a few interviews where the interviewer barely lets the candidate get word in. The interviewer goes on and on about either the job or nothing related to the job at all. The candidate doesn’t want to be rude and hurt their chances, but they also want to say something to improve their chances. You shouldn’t put the candidate in this situation.

When conducting an interview, try letting the candidate talk and actually listen to what they have to say. Try asking more open ended questions and let them talk. Listen to what they have to say and how they say it. You can learn so much about a person just by listening. If you’re able to bring up conversation or passions in subsequent interviews or meetings, people notice. They feel you did listen and actually care.

3- Be Honest

If you have concerns that the candidate is over-qualified or their job history is a little sketchy, say something. The issue may be easily explained, if given the chance. The candidate has this right. I recently interviewed a candidate that had been out of work for quite a while. In fact, he made it to the final round of interviews but didn’t get the job, on a previous posting. He was well qualified and was really interested in the work and the organization, but I had concerns that because of being out of work for as long as he had been that he was getting desperate. As we finished our in-person interview and knowing he was the person we wanted to hire, I brought up the concern of him accepting the position due to the fact he’d been out of work for as long as he had. I mentioned I was concerned he may be accepting out of desperation and just wanting to start working. He was able to address the concerns and I extended the offer.

Every organization has issues. We all have things we’d love to do better or problems that cause people to leave. Don’t keep this information from the candidate. Be upfront about processes, people, technical challenges, or whatever could be a surprise. Every candidate should walk into an organization and not have any major surprises. It’s not a good way to start any relationship. Keep in mind that there is a fine line between divulging too much and remember to steer clear of gossip and interpersonal issues.

4- Respect the Candidate’s Time

The interview process is a two way street. You’re there to gauge whether the candidate is qualified for the position as well as a good culture fit. The candidate is there to get a better understanding of you, the team, and the organization. You and the candidate have a finite amount of time to make your best guess if it’s meant to be.

Don’t waste that finite time by being that hiring manager that shows up to the lobby 10–20 minutes late. It sets the interview off to a bad tone. There’s an outage, meeting ran long, got caught up in something…. I’ve heard them all. I’ve used most of them. Yeah I know the candidate said it was fine and they understand, but they are irritated. That does not start things off right. If you’re late to the interview, are you going to push off 1:1s, be late to meetings, not be there for the person?

You are both busy and have things to do. Respect their time and their right to that entire interview to learn about you, the company, the team, and the position.

5- Ask for Feedback

Yeah you heard me. Ask the candidates, for advice on how you could improve the hiring process. Most candidates won’t give you feedback or be honest about it, but there will be some in each round of hiring that will give you something you could work on. Not only is it incredibly beneficial for you, as a hiring manager, but this also reflects that you’re open to constructive critism, which is a sign of a good manager.

Another very beneficial way to learn what you can do better is go through the process. Next time you’re looking for a job, write down what you liked, disliked, and what drove you crazy. With that data, figure out the areas that you can improve on. Each interview is different, keep in mind. Asking for feedback during the interview may not be the best place and a follow up email be more appropriate.

“If you hire people who believe what you believe, they work for you with blood and sweat and tears “ ~Simon Sinek

What have you noticed interviewers do that irritate you? As a hiring manager, what have you noticed you need to improve on?