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Right for the job?

The 10 biggest hiring myths debunked.
March 2006

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Recruitment specialist Tony Beshara dispels the 10 biggest myths about the all-important business of hiring.

Ninety-seven percent of businesses in the US employ fewer than 100 people. The vast majority of these firms think that they are “people” organizations. They aren’t. Here are 10 of the most prominent myths that companies cultivate about hiring new employees:

 

1. We are really good at hiring

Numerous studies show that the typical employment interviewing process is only 57% effective in predicting subsequent employee success. That’s only 7% better than flipping a coin. Instead of admitting that most hiring processes are inaccurate and poor, most organizations kid themselves into thinking that they really know what they’re doing. They should admit that the hiring process is not easy, is not an exact science and is not a talent that one is born with. Companies that approach hiring systematically will be much better off.

2. Hiring good people is one of our highest priorities

If this were true, the hiring success rate would be more like 85% or 90%. If you ask most hiring authorities how long the average hiring process takes, they would tell you two to three weeks... maybe, being generous, a month. The reality is that the average hire takes between 90 and 120 days. If hiring were such a priority, why is there such a difference between what is imagined and what is reality? Hiring good people might be a priority, but it is also a great risk for an individual or company. To avoid the risk of failure, all kinds of convoluted processes are invented. The biggest problem, however, is procrastination.

 

3. We know how to detect and hire the best talent

The truth is that most hiring is based on the personal skills that a candidate demonstrates in the interviewing process. Companies have a tendency to hire the best interviewee. First impression, personality, appearance, self-confidence, verbal communications and the ability to interview well are the reasons that most people get hired. If style and talent happen to be coincidental, a good hire results. The best-qualified candidate will normally lose out to a marginally qualified candidate that sells him or herself well.

 

4. We have a proven system for hiring

Even if that’s true, it’s usually written on the back of a napkin. A system of hiring would include an exact process that would be 95% objective evaluation and only 5% subjective evaluation. Instead of developing a defined methodology that all of the interviewing authorities subscribe to, most companies simply send a candidate around to a few interviewing authorities and ask for an “opinion.”

5. Our hiring process works because we have a number of people involved in the interviewing process

Studies show that the most successful hires are made by the one person who has responsibility for the job function. The more people involved in the hiring process, the more the “herd mentality” prevails and the most comfortable and familiar candidate will be hired, rather than the best one. It is not likely that American business will change and have only one person responsible for hiring, because people want to spread the risk. If a poor hire is made, most people don’t have the guts to simply state, “I made a mistake.” To avoid taking on the individual risk of looking bad because of a poor hire, hiring authorities have a number of people in an organization interview a prospective employee.

That way, if it’s a mistake, everyone can point the finger to someone else and say, “Well, you wanted to hire him or her, too.”

6. We are busy, so it’s best if someone else screens the three or four top candidates and then we will interview them

Anyone who screens candidates and does not have a direct, “my job is on the line” responsibility for the hire, should not be involved in the process. This includes: the HR department (unless the position is for their department), administrative assistants, third-party screeners or anyone the hiring authority wants to “unload” this very important task to. No one who is not directly affected by the day-to-day function of the person being hired should be involved in any part of the process, as no one understands the nuances or the gives and takes of subjective hiring as well as the person who is responsible for the job itself.

7. We know it when we see it... and when we see the right candidate, we will sell our job and our company

Most hiring authorities go into “sell mode” way too soon in the interviewing process. They emotionally and subjectively buy into a candidate with their heart and emotions without objectively evaluating performance and success, relative to the job.


8. We want to hire the best candidate our money will buy... the more we pay the better the hire

Hiring is not like buying a house or car or any tangible asset. We don’t own employees. Money is simply one aspect of hiring and must be put in the context of value for both the candidate and the hiring organization. Simply judging a candidate’s fit based on money or any other single issue will disrupt the value proposition.


9. We have a wonderful job and a wonderful company.... everyone
wants to work here, and they’re lucky if we will consider them

This notion that, “We have a job opportunity and everyone is going to want to work here,” is a vestige from the most recent recession. The truth is that over the next few years there are going to be fewer candidates and they are going to have choices. We need to get our egos out of the hiring process, see jobs from the perspective of quality candidates, and sell the best candidates on coming to work for us.

 

10. If our hiring process is good we will rarely make a hiring mistake

Within reason, the time we should fire a “hiring mistake” is when we first get the inkling. Most hiring authorities don’t like to admit when they make a mistake and, worse, try to keep the “mistake” around, hoping for it to miraculously change into a reasonable hire. Nearly every hiring authority looks back on its hiring mistakes and wishes it terminated the employee three, four or even six months earlier. When you come to the conclusion that you have made a mistake, terminate the employment of that individual. (Besides, they’re probably just as unhappy as you are about your choice.)

Tony Beshara has been in the professional placement and recruitment profession since 1973. He has personally placed more than 6500 professionals in just about every kind of job from the boardroom down to the maintenance room. Get inside info on how to land the perfect job in Tony’s latest book The Job Search Solution by (Amazon, 2006, $16.95).

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