Earlier in the May, SCMP came out with a stunning report of Hong Kong’s unemployment rate that’s hitting a 20 year record low. Similarly at that time, Singapore reported to have hit a 7 year low unemployment rate, tipping the job market off balance.

Despite this, companies are still in the fight for the best candidate. Especially in a culture of developing startups and economic growth, businesses trying to recruit are faced with a scarcity of qualified candidates.

In such a candidate driven environment, a well designed recruitment process becomes essential in helping companies land the best talent.

8 Ways Your Hiring Process is Failing & How to Improve Overnight

When competition for the best candidate is so high, it is important that your hiring process is not a dud, as hiring mistakes and failing to retain the right candidates can be costly to the company. Undoubtedly, company brand has the ability to not only draw in clients but also talent. In light of the race for the best candidates, we will be focusing on hiring mistakes in your recruitment process that can easily be avoided.

1. Avoid Expectation Mismatch

A key to hiring the right candidate starts with a well crafted job description (JD). While it may seem to make sense to list out every little task or to simply use a generic list of qualifications, a much better approach is to consolidate key aspect of the role. By illustrating front and center what takes priority not only helps candidate get a better feel for the position early on in the hiring process, but also gives you a better guide to evaluate each candidate by.

2. End the Tedious Lead Up

The hiring process is a time for both parties to evaluate each other. This is especially true in the apparent candidate driven climate. Drowning the candidate with robotics prior to making an impression in person is ill advised. Instead, don’t lose time to meet the candidate in person, as the effort required to back out from a recruitment process by declining someone you’ve met in person, is relatively higher than saying “no” to a complete stranger via email.

3. Don’t Miss Out on the Personal

A major recruitment mistake is forgetting that it’s about the people. The process of screening what seems like an endless number of candidates can no doubt make the hiring process a seem dull. That said, a skilled recruiter should never make the interview process about the set of questions in front of them.

What sets a skilled recruiter and an ordinary recruiter apart is how professional recruiters will use the interview process as an opportunity to understand the character of the candidate. By learning about their nature and using this information to determine the candidate fit, they will have a greater chance of finding the candidate who’ll stay.

4. A Heads Up on the Salary

The concept of pay transparency is still relatively new in Asia, however many studies have shown the benefits of setting clear expectations, especially in the case of pay. By creating a clear structure and communicating the expected range early on in the hiring process, you avoid wasting extra time on candidates that are not a good fit. This also reduces the chance for salary resentment, improving overall structure. Obviously, this may not be an approach for the faint of heart, even so, it is still a good idea to communicate the salary range earlier on in the recruitment process to let candidates know what they’re signing onto.

5. A Need to be in the Know

Knowledge matters, and the same principle applies for recruiting the right candidate. Recruiters are prized not only on their people skills, but also for their knowledge in the field and in position. A recruiter, whether they’re internal or not should have a clear understanding of the role and its significance, to help them better evaluate the candidate’s knowledge and fit into the company.

6. Don’t Underestimate the Weight of Scheduled Appointments

There is little excuse as to making someone wait on a scheduled appointment, interviews included. For a recruiter, it looks bad when a candidate shows up late or ill prepared, the same is also true the other way around. At a time when talent is scarce, recruiters will also need to make a good impression on their candidates. To make people wait unnecessarily will leave them feeling devalued and disrespected, arguably not the best way to start a negotiation.

7. Let Them Speak!

A skill that is easier said than done is to not dominate the conversation and allowing the other to speak. By doing so, you’re able to listen to what they have to offer and assess the character fit. Hold back the temptation to download all the information onto them. See what the candidate has to say, have they done the research on the company, how well prepared are they, and are they asking the right questions. All this will help you determine if they’re a good candidate or not.

8. Don’t Neglect the Next Steps

Whether or not you think the candidate can continue further down the hiring process, it is good practice to communicate the next steps with them. Be it they pass or not, it is common courtesy to let candidates know what will be in order, even if that means an automatic rejection after a specific wait period.

Don’t Let Recruitment Mistakes Impede Your Hiring Process

Did any of these common recruitment mistakes ring a bell for you? A quick way to tackle these problems is to hire professional recruiters to help you quickly improve your hiring process. Start hiring the right talent with Links’ specialised recruitment services. Recognised across Hong Kong and Singapore, our recruitment services cover major sectors including  Banking and Finance, Sales and Marketing, HR and Administrative services, Temporary and Contracting solutions, and many more. Get your hiring process back on track, with Links International.

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