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Recruitment is not simple. The process is rather long and it requires a lot of effort from both the recruiters, as well as the candidates.
The good news is that there are multiple resources full of detailed information about how to manage a successful hiring process: from books and articles to thought leaders' and friends' advice.
The bad news is that not everything written or said works for everyone. This is why we wanted to know what trend or strategy did not work well for recruitment specialists.
We contacted six recruiters and industry leaders working with recruitment and asked them: what is a piece of advice or a common trend in recruitment you don't entirely agree with?
Read their answers below:
Anna Svanberg, CEO at OnePartnerGroup Interim
Being 100% right in the matching process
"One piece of advice I have often received is that the matching must be 100% correct. In m business, the interim business, that’s not true. The consultant must of course be competent, but since he or she is often hired during urgent circumstances, 90% “right” is enough.
In these cases, it is rather speed and the ability to adapt quickly that matters, as there is no room for onboarding. The customer can then also discover a lot of good things that the consultant contributes that they did not even know they needed. Win-win for everyone!"
Astrid Svedérus, Founder of TemaHR
Relying too much on video tools in the selection process
"I’m sceptical about the increasing use of video in the application stage of the selection process. I don’t mean all video tools for application and selection, but first and foremost the ones that encourage or force candidates to “tell a little bit about themselves” in a video when they are applying for a job.
Sure, for some positions this piece of information can be relevant as selection criteria, but for most jobs, I only see the risk of letting first impression, physical appearance and gut feeling take more place in the selection process. And I don’t believe that is where we should be heading.
I believe that there is a place for video in several stages of the recruitment process, but I think that we need to be very careful about how we interpret the information. If we can’t argue for the relevance of a video application, I don’t think we should use it."
Iris Nemec, HR Generalist at Lernia
Trusting the gut feeling when hiring candidates
"A problematic tool I have encountered and often hear in recruitment contexts is intuition, for example: "My intuition says that we should/should not proceed with this candidate". The problem with recruiting based on intuition is that it often leads to the recruiter's prejudices becoming decisive in the process, rather than the candidate's actual skills.
Although it is good to listen to your intuition in many contexts, it is not a good tool to use when recruiting. All people consciously or unconsciously carry prejudices, and recruitment managers are no exception. Of course, it can be difficult to admit it to oneself, but it is only when we accept that prejudices exist that open-minded recruitment can take place.
For example, using competency-based recruitment processes and tests, which, among other things, measure competence and personality, minimise the risk of recruiting with prejudice."
Gints Gailis, Lead Growth Hacker at Confect.io
Overlooking freelancers
"Being in a leading position, I am responsible for identifying and recruiting candidates for in-house roles and freelancers to join our projects in different areas.
Recruiting freelancers used to be a hit or miss, but with the recent remote work culture, there is way more great talent available since a lot of professionals that got laid off during the first months of covid became full-time freelancers as an alternative.
And hey, if you have a remote work option already in your company, then hiring a freelancer should be no mystery for you as well."
Mikael da Costa, Founder and Head of Product at Leadoo Marketing Technologies
Using only employer branding for recruitment strategies
"As there is a huge war for talent, many companies are investing highly in building their employer brand in order to get better results fast. Employer branding is great for building general awareness, but it alone doesn't create a significant increase in the number of qualified applications.
The potential candidates companies attract with employer branding content are passive candidates with no up-to-date resumes. Expecting passive candidates to apply without a CV won't work. You need a new way to activate the potential candidates to actually get any benefit of all the employer branding efforts."
Anna-Lisa Natchev, Chief Growth Officer at Good Sign
Hiring "in-house" candidates only
"The worst advice I've ever heard is that you should only recruit permanent "in-house" people. Many experts are needed only for a while, and many of them prefer to work on a project basis or a fractional basis.
Also, when the workforce is global and people want flexibility, trying to find people who will stay at a company for 30+ years is not good advice.
The best way to find good talent is to look for people who have the right skill set and are passionate about their work. Also, don't be afraid to invest in training and development programs to help your employees reach their full potential."
