Much has been said about the cost of a wrong hire. They have the potential to plunge your company into toxic culture hell, could cause disputes in the office if they don’t mesh well with staffAnd, according to Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, could set your business back ?well over $100m?. So it?doesn’t hurt to know which recruitment red flags to look out for.
Separating the wheat from the chaff isn’t an easy feat. Those with brilliant resumes could end up being the worst fit, and the other way around as well. Practice will make perfect yes it will, no one company has the same benchmark but there are common recruitment red flags you can use as a mental checklist the next time you meet candidates face-to-face.
Of course, we searched the web for some expert advice, and we came across a well of information. We’re talking about Quora, and one Mira Zaslove,?who recruited people into finance and sales roles, has been writing about this very subject.?She believes warning signs can appear as as soon as people walk?through the door.
?First impressions matter. How formal you dress will depend on the company, but what you wear’says a lot about you how much effort has gone into meeting someone, whether they did their research on company standards and whether they truly care about getting the position.
“I once interviewed a candidate who came in wearing an overly casual and wrinkled outfit. It looked like she was going to a yoga class. Her painted nails were chipping and her hair was messy. Nevertheless, we ignored the red flag. She was a good candidate, so?we hired her. She performed well, but quit shortly after joining.
Zaslove explained the employee had joined another company. Of more importance though is that she’s right: we live in a world where our appearance tells peopleA lot about our interests and our personality. And if you’re choosing someone for a customer-facing role, it becomes all the more paramount.
Other recruitment red flags manifest whencandidates open their mouths especially if they?re inclined to bragging. When the CV looks impeccable but their attitude is horrible, really think about whether his/her talent is worth it. Arrogance is also something to be weary of, Zaslove explained, though some especially large companies will be drawn to their talent nonetheless.
It’s not always the best move. Take, for example, the viral blog?by former-Uber engineer?Susan Fowler. She explained her sexual harassment claims were tossed to the side in light of the employee in question’s?talent that HR didn’t feel comfortable “punishing such a small mistake”.
Never let talent get in the way of company culture it’s the one thing both customers and staff will leave you for without much thought. We all know how things have ended up with Uber, so nip such attitudes in the bud from the get-go.
“I once had a candidate say to me, ‘ok if you are so good, show me how it’s done,” Zaslove said as an example of what to look out for. “‘Sell me this pen’.”
Bosses often like to see staff ask questions, but not in such a manner. She added: “I had yet to decide if I wanted to hire this candidate and found it jarring. After I gave my answer, they tried to ‘one-up’ me with an overly amped, standing presentation. It was a no-no. It’s difficult to train people who ask questions, not for an answer, but only to show how smart they are.”
Read on to find out how Elon Musk can tell if you’re lying.
A?lot about recruitment, believe it or not, comes down to gut feeling. You could pour over CVs, skills and attitudes as much as you want, but when more than one potential fit comes along, you pick and choose on your instincts.
Chances are that during the interview phase, ifAlarm bells go off in your head it’s for a good reason even if you don’t know why’straight away. That’s because, according to Rikka Brandon in a Fast Company article, there are various gradients when it comes to recruitment red flags, from almost-red to neon-red and you will only be able to discover some ?by asking more questions and digging into them until they aren?t a problem anymore.”
A lot of hiring mistakes happen when you take someone’s”first answer, she detailed, so it’s best to quickly move from a Q&A into a conversation. “It’s where you take your industry knowledge and compare it to what they?re saying.”
For Sarah Smith, who was part of Quora’s recruitment and user operations team from 2012-2016, one of the biggest recruitment red flags was victim mentality. Finding it often needed some prodding, but once found, bosses definitely couldn’t ignore it.
“When I ask, ‘Tell me about your interest in this role,’ and I get an answer along the lines of,?’I’m at Facebook/Google/Microsoft?and have tapped out on what I can learn here. There’s no more room for me to grow,’they’ve lost me. Are they’seriously trying to tell me there are literally no more opportunities for learning at a 10-30-100 THOUSAND person company?”
“If theycannot findAnything?to learn there, how are they?going to do when they”have to roll up their sleeves and do a fair bit of less glamorous work at a startup” I’ve worked in some very mundane jobs earlier in my career and have never been ‘bored’. There is always something to learn. Similarly, I see a huge red flag when an applicant talks about their boss ‘hating’ them or really anyone in the organisation that is ‘against’ them.
“Talk of being ‘limited’ or ‘capped’ is part and parcel of victim mentality. It’s certainly possible that theyAre at a company or team that is a sinking ship and they?want to get out, but theycan always find something to learn in all situations and paint their interest in a role in a positive, learning light.
On the other hand,?Dan Holliday, a corporate recruiter?who also gave advice on Quora, is of the belief that?too many polished answers should be considered recruitment red flags, unveiling a key aspect of their personality. “How many” I don’t know. Can’t tell you. But I have a collection of questions that few people can be prepared for. If they are, then it does worries?me.
“When I ask,?’Tell me about your worst failure on a job, where you thought you were gonna get fired. Explain the outcome.’ Some smarmy, slick answer isn’t appreciated. Likewise, if they’say, ‘Oh, I’ve never done that’,then (a) theyAren’t bold enough and (b) they’re probably lying anyway. We’ve all been called into the bosses office for screwing up royally.
Speaking of messing up, many?of the entrepreneurial elite have ways?to “dig out the truth” during interviews. One of them is Elon Musk, who?claimed to intervieweveryone at SpaceX personally.
?What do I look for” It depends on the task,” Musk said in a live interview. I?m not necessarily looking for someone who has brilliant analytical ability if their job is going to be assembling hardware. But if you struggle with a problem, then you can solve it. That’s how I?know if someone is telling the truth.”
If they’ve handled a problematic situation they’should be able to explain in detail how it was resolved. Those who stammer and skirt around the topic are likely lying about their involvement and are not worthy candidates for the job.
