6 Mistakes that Lose Candidates in the Interview Process

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In today’s job market, candidate experience is everything. In order to find and acquire the best of the best talent, companies must learn how to market themselves as employers. Unfortunately, many don’t know where to begin. With this shift from employers having their pick, to being a candidate-driven market, mistakes are being made that are costing employers good candidates.  

With the power in their hands, candidates are prioritizing their wants and needs. Flexibility is now a necessity – in both working hours and working models, whether that’s remote options or 4-day work weeks. Candidates crave independence – they want to be given tasks and trusted to carry them out with minimal oversight. Last and certainly not least, benefits, perks, and compensation are paramount. 401K matching, covered healthcare for dependents, and unlimited PTO are becoming essentials in employee offerings.  

Today’s candidates are well-informed. They know what employers are capable of offering their employees, and won’t settle for less than what they want. This makes the interview process crucial. It’s a company’s first impression, and can make or break a new hire depending on how it’s handled. To arm yourself and your company with knowledge, it’s important to know where the process breaks down and how to fix it. Based on Blue Signal’s own research, here are the top six interviewing mistakes, and how to avoid them.  

 

#1 – Lengthy or Overly Intensive Application Process  

61% of poll respondents said that the top reason they dropped out of the interview process was because it was needlessly long and/or intensive. This is an all-too-common mistake. Sometimes employers have a candidate attach a resume, then route them to their in-house applicant tracking system that has them manually fill in all of the same information. Others send applicants through rigorous rounds of interviews, where candidates find themselves repeating the same answers to interview questions, just to different hiring authorities.  

The solution is simple. To avoid the mistake of losing candidates at the application stage, keep the process short and sweet. Invest in software or platforms that can parse and auto fill forms from a resume’s upload. Leverage more intuitive ATS systems. Weed out underqualified applicants on the front end by adding qualifying questions that allow you to skip over those that don’t meet the minimum requirements. Finally, make sure to organize and structure your interview process. Give your hiring managers the right questions to ask, make sure they are sharing their notes with the next round of interviewers, and give them the authority to cut people out of the process without wasting anyone’s time.  

 

#2 – Not Getting True Insights From Interviews  

21% of respondents cited that the interviews themselves were the problem. Many people felt as though the interviews lacked true insight into the role; that the process just went through the motions rather than forming a connection. Interviewers were using cliché questions that didn’t help qualify or disqualify candidates, and the candidates could tell. It seemed as though the information these queries provided were unhelpful to inform a hiring decision, since these candidates would leave only to be called back and repeat the process all over again.  

To avoid these common mistakes, the interview process should always be tailored to the role. Streamline by cutting out the fluff. For instance, if it’s a technical role, consider making an early stage of the interview process some sort of comprehension test. You don’t need to ask how they work on a team if the role isn’t collaborative. And unless the role will be reporting in through HR, it’s okay to wait to have the candidate meet with the HR Director till after they are extended an offer of employment. This method saves time, and gets right to the point!  

Also, be sure to arm your interviewers with strong interview questions that help provide true insights into the candidate’s capabilities. Oftentimes, leadership isn’t trained on interviewing best practices and are left to guess at it. Once they are given the proper tools, assign teams of 2-3 people to be decision makers and empower them to make the final call. This way, there won’t be too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to picking who to hire.  

 

#3 – Inaccurate or Incomprehensive Job Descriptions 

Next, we found that 13% of our LinkedIn audience stated that inaccurate or incomprehensive job descriptions made them bow out of the interview process. Your job description is an applicant’s first insight into your company culture, the job’s responsibilities, and is a huge tell for how you will perform as an employer. Worse yet, candidates that are in the interview pipeline may later find that the job description they read online has little to do with the role their interviewers are describing – causing deep distrust and almost certainly a candidate falloff.  

To sidestep these job description related mistakes, make sure that whoever creates the job posting is working closely with the hiring manager. The understanding of the role, the department, its leadership, and its main goals should be one and the same. The job description should accurately represent the needs of the job so that a candidate can make an informed decision when applying, interviewing, and accepting a job offer. The more comprehensive these main points, the better prepared and aligned the applicant pipeline will be.  

Actually, job descriptions should be seen as an opportunity for employers. They give you a chance to brag about your company and teams, and should make a candidate eager to join. Not to mention, the last thing you want is to start back at square one when it comes to a hire. Nothing could be worse than a candidate showing up on their first day – after all that time, money, and resources put into their acquisition, onboarding, and training – only to be surprised at the actual job in front of them. Reduce your turnover; improve your job descriptions.  

Flow chart including 6 questions and solutions of mistakes

#4 – Impersonal Communication  

Many respondents also noted that the impersonal communication surrounding the interview process turned them off to prospects. Copied and pasted scheduling invites come across lackluster, and don’t compare to a thoughtfully written note. Especially in larger organizations, hiring messaging can treat people like numbers, and come off almost robotic in tone. As talent acquisition teams communicate with their large applicant pool, a lot of heart can be lost in translation, and can leave a candidate wondering, is this how it would feel like working for you, too?  

By tailoring communications to the candidate, you can avoid these common mistakes. Use their names every chance you get. When passing them along to someone else in the process, make sure to give warm introductions. If possible, reference things that may have come up in conversation or things that stood out to you in their profile. A simple, “Hey – how was that kayaking trip you said you had planned for the weekend?” or, “wouldn’t you know it, my spouse went to the same college as you!” can go a long way. By giving them the same courtesy as you expect in follow up and thank you notes, personalizing communications can strengthen your interview process.  

 

#5 – Lack of Transparency  

Unfortunately, several candidates feel that there is lack of transparency in the interview process. Leftover sentiment from the employer-driven job market has affected candidate management into today, where employers feel the need to safeguard their offerings. Leaving compensation, benefits, and policies out of job postings leaves too much room for speculation, and results in a lack of trust in a potential employer.  

As it stands, employers must start adding these elements to their job postings to remain competitive in the hiring market. Not only is pay transparency legally required in many states, it will also give companies better aligned candidates whose pay expectations are met by the job at hand. If your compensation range is out of the candidate’s target, it’s unlikely they’d make it past the compensation conversation anyway.  

Additionally, it’s important to destigmatize candidates asking questions surrounding benefits during an interview. It’s typically seen as taboo or bad form when a candidate asks about benefits, time off, workplace policies, and perks during an interview. However, it doesn’t all need to be a test. This could be a deciding factor for many potential hires. At any given time, active candidates may be entertaining more than one opportunity. Many people have strong must-haves in these areas – especially those with families, differing healthcare needs, and those looking to retire. By being transparent with benefits, employers can make sure their offerings align with a candidate’s needs early on in the process. It will attract those who fit the bill, and cut out those who don’t. In essence, this is just good time savings. 

 

#6 – Putting Too Much Emphasis on Culture Fit  

Finally, it’s important to avoid mistakes made in the name of “culture fit.” Our audience cited several instances where in an interview, they got the sense that if they didn’t fit into the culture, they wouldn’t get the job. Because it seemed as though the role would be awarded due to popularity, and not on merit, it made these candidates shy away from the company altogether. Essentially, hiring managers may lose out on excellent hiring opportunities just because they are looking for someone who fits their team’s mold.  

 Many employers probably don’t even realize they are making hiring decisions based on unconscious biases, but unfortunately the idea of “culture fit” has perpetuated this bias time and time again. To avoid these types of mistakes, it’s good for hiring authorities to instead look for opportunities to “culture add.” Hiring people just like you, with identical backgrounds to those already on the team, will result in stale and recycled ideas. This can unwittingly result in a sounding board rather than a diverse-thinking team. To ensure your company continues to innovate, make sure to hire for culture add. Instead of mirroring the existing culture, these candidates will bring diversified experiences, which can lead to fresh new ideas! 

 

Learning and Growing from Common Interviewing Mistakes 

All in all, the overall lesson here is to treat prospective hires as though they were already on board. Respect their time, get on their level, and cut to the chase. Candidates are assets! Treat them well and they will bring success. Don’t, and you may lose out on your next great hire.  

 Competing in today’s candidate-driven market can be tricky. Invest in your employer branding, and that value will return 10-fold in the clients you’ll attract. Not sure where to start? Recruiters are the best marketers when it comes to the candidate audience. Working with a recruiter is a great way to boost your employer branding, break into the marketplace, and expand your reach. Contact Blue Signal today to see how we can help you navigate the interview process.  

Employee Referrals: A Sourcing Secret

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The Importance of Employee Referrals

Employee referrals may be the best kept secret when it comes to recruiting. Whether you have just begun a search or are months in the trenches, employee referrals can be an important tool when sourcing talent. Traditional methods of recruiting through career sites and job boards are starting to become less fruitful as the platforms become saturated with candidates that have dozens of recruiters pining after them. When you hit a dead end with your traditional sourcing methods, it’s time to turn to your network. Recruiters and hiring managers are realizing that qualified (and often passive) talent can be found through word of mouth – that is, through asking their network for employee referrals.

Why Employee Referrals are the Best Source of Hire

They’re Effective:

Research from Jobvite found that the most effective way to find top talent is through employee referrals, citing that 78% of recruiters find their best quality candidates using this sourcing method. Despite career sites and job boards having the highest number of applications, employee referrals have the highest conversion-to-hire rate. This makes employee referrals cost effective while streamlining the timeline of the search. According to Jobvite, only 7% of applicants come from referrals. Incredibly, this small number accounts for nearly all hires – further proving that employee referrals are lucrative when recruiting top talent.

Graphic explaining why to hire employee referrals. Paragraph of text next to a horizontal bar graph of hires by source type vs. applications by source type.

In addition to being cost and time effective, employee referrals are the most efficient when it comes to onboarding. Employee referrals onboard with an average of 29 days from their application date, which is 55% faster than applicants on a career site (with an average of 55 days). By onboarding faster than other hire sources, employee referrals are able to get up to speed and start succeeding in their new roles quicker. Consequently, this saves companies money. With the average cost of an open role being around $18,000, having an vacancy for months on end can be detrimental. At the end of the day, employee referrals are the most effective way to save time and money during your search.

They’re a Better Culture Fit:

When it comes to hiring, determining if a candidate is a culture fit can be a make-or-break decision. Despite job boards and career sites attracting hundreds of applicants, candidates referred by a current employee are more likely to reflect and/or adapt to the core values and attitudes of an organization than those from other hire sources. Consequently, recruiters consider an employee referral to be the second most important factor when evaluating a candidate because those candidates are proactively evaluated as a good fit for the company by the referring party. In addition, the new hire has a cultural support system before they even step through the door; the referring party will be genuinely invested in the new hire’s success and will help them navigate the corporate culture. As a result, having an employee that you know matches the organization’s ethos and structure will not only strengthen company culture overall, but decrease turnover.

They Have Higher Retention Rates:

Employee referrals have the highest retention rate compared to hires from other sources, with the average length of employment being over three years. Having been referred by a previous or current employee, candidates that come in with detailed insights of the company – such as company culture and structure – have a significant advantage over their counterparts. This knowledge eases new job nerves and guarantees less speedbumps during the onboarding process. Equally as beneficial, employees who refer others also have a higher retention rate, and stay at the company 20% longer. With increasing retention rate becoming a major recruiting priority for 2021, hiring managers need to invest in employee referrals – they’re a win-win-win for the referrer, referee, and the company.

How to Get Employee Referrals

Employee referral programs are a tried-and-true method of unlocking top talent. According to Jobvite, 79% of organizations offer an employee referral program, and 48% of organizations are seeing a higher participation in these programs in 2021. By tapping into their current employees’ networks, companies could potentially expand their talent pool by 10x. Although employee referral programs have potential for great success, they are entirely dependent on the motivations of the referring party – whether it’s wanting to help their friend, wanting to support the company, or wanting to receive the monetary incentive provided. Therefore, this could be unpredictable and unreliable for filling urgent roles. Whilst established referral programs can be a great source for roles that aren’t time sensitive, it is also important to consider other ways to reach employees’ networks.

Today, one of the most important networks is the one found online. Utilizing social networks among recruiters has been a common practice, but has picked up momentum in the recent years. Over one third of recruiters are leveraging social media to supplement employee referral programs. Additionally, 80% of recruiters believe that investing in social media is absolutely crucial, as more and more candidates are being found through social networks. As your network expands, so does the opportunity for employee referrals. An action as simple as a LinkedIn connection could lead to your next placement. For example, if you have 500 connections on LinkedIn and each of your connections has 100 connections, that totals 50,000 reachable contacts. When it comes down to it, it really is all about who you know.

Conclusion

Employee referrals are an unparalleled source when it comes to recruiting top quality candidates for your organization. The quality of employee referrals is reflected in their time and cost efficacy, higher conversion and retention rates, and likelihood to be a better culture fit. When searching for employee referrals, turn to your network – utilizing your company’s employee referral program or sourcing from your social network can yield an unmatched talent pool. In the midst of fighting the War for Talent, trust in Blue Signal as your partner in the process and for industry-focused tips.

Coffee with a Recruiter, feat. Jonathan Lee

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From professional development, to management, and even having experience recruiting himself, Blue Signal’s Senior Manager of Operations has extensive experience working with recruiters, candidates, clients, and the industry overall. In our newest installment of Blue Signal’s Coffee with a Recruiter series, Jonathan Lee shared with us a two part segment on some key things people should know when working with recruiters - as both candidates and clients. Watch and read on to gather the intel you need to make the most of your recruiting experience. 

Working with Recruiters as a Candidate 

Question: “As a candidate, what should you know before reaching out to a recruiter?” 

Answer: “As a candidate, what you really should know before reaching out to a recruiter is really more about the recruiting company itself. They’re going to be representing you to the new company you want to work at, or maybe new companies that you’ve never heard of but could have your dream job, so you want to make sure the company has good reviews online. More importantly, you want to be sure they specialize in your industry or in the functionality of the role you are currently in. This is really really important. They might have a really good reputation in the industry and those big, target companies will tend to utilize those companies more. Just keep in mind that they will be representing you, so make sure who is representing you is who you want to.” 

 

Q: “Should you have anything prepared beforehand?” 

A: “As a candidate, there are actually things you should prepare before you reach out to a recruiter. This is going to be a simple tip, but I feel like there is a lot of value. Of course you should have your resume prepared and most up to date with your current job experience, current responsibilities, things like that. But also, I think it’s a really good idea and will up your chances of you being placed at that dream job if you have something like a brag sheet of rewards that you’ve won, patents you were granted, quotas that you’ve overachieved, things like that. 

Recruiters are so inundated with resumes that the more additional information that you can provide, the better and the reason is this. So whenever you send in your resume, cover letter, things like that - recruiters will put it in their ATS system. This is how they keep track of all the applicants, all their resumes. Now these systems are able to search for specific keywords. So if the recruiter has the dream job you’re looking for, or they get that dream job later on in the future, they are going to search their ATS. So the more information that you can provide the recruiter, the more chance they can reach out, the more they can better represent you, and the more likely that you’re going to get that dream job.” 

 

Q: “What is a common misconception candidates have when starting to work with recruiters?” 

A: “I think a big misconception that people have when starting to look for a new job with recruiters is that the recruiting companies find jobs for you. In reality, logically speaking, it really is a free service for the candidates. So recruiters technically find their clients people to fill their jobs and not the other way around. I’m just being straightforward and honest. So what I recommend is having patience. To really try to get ahead of that curve if you know something has changed in your current job situation, the right time to reach out to a recruiter is not when you need to find a job now, it really is a month out in advance. So keep on applying, keep on reaching out to recruiters. Make sure those recruiters are in your industry, have good reviews, are really good at what they do - and you will find your dream job.” 

 

Working with Recruiters as a Client 

Q: “As a client looking to hire, what should you know before reaching out to a recruiter?” 

A: “As a client looking to hire, there are really 3 things you need to keep in mind before reaching out to a recruiting firm. These 3 things that differentiate recruiting firms from each other are cost, speed, and quality. One recruiting firm really can’t have all 3 of these things so you really need to understand which is most important to you. All of these have their own merits and there are many different situations where one of the three would be more valued than the other. So you really just need to understand and have that alignment with the recruiting firm on which is important and they can definitely help you create that good hire that you want.” 

 

Q: “Knowing the search, what should you have prepared for your recruiter?” 

A: “Knowing the search, there are really two things you should know before reaching out to a recruiter, and these are really about your own company. The first thing is your weak points, and really being transparent when you talk to the recruiters about weak points. These weak points - whether it be bad reviews, whether it be a bad reputation in the industry - will come up throughout the interview process as candidates conduct their own research and talk to people in the industry. Having the ability as a recruiter to counter it or show that you’re having that level of transparency with the willingness to improve will always help the recruiter bring that talent and really address those weak points right up front, and help you create that good hire. 

The second point is your strengths. Now a good recruiting firm will take candidates away from their companies, not just find the ones who are unemployed. (Not to say that there isn’t good talent who are currently unemployed.) We call these strong points the sizzle. It is incredibly helpful to attract the best candidates in general, not just the ones who are available.” 

 

The Key Takeaways 

As a candidate, it’s important to do your research and make preparations before reaching out to a recruiter. Since finding you a job is essentially a free service, it helps to support the recruiter through updating your resume, setting goals, and getting on the market early. Recruiters need to know how to best represent you for the job you want, so communication is essential. 

As a client, transparency should be your priority when working with recruiting firms. You’ll need to know your goals, and know what you are willing to prioritize in order to reach them. Recruiters are masters at marketing opportunity - but in order to best market your company and the role you are looking to fill, they need to know both its strengths and weaknesses so they are fully prepared to tackle any objections as they arise. 

Blue Signal Search has over 150 years of combined recruiting experience, proving we have the knowledge you need to land that perfect job or hire. Contact us today to discuss your options and see if Blue Signal is the right fit for your next search. 

Jonathan Lee
Jonathan Lee

Jonathan Lee

SR. MANAGER OF OPERATIONS

Jonathan supports a range of customer-facing and strategic functions. He heads the operations and technical support departments and manages IT initiatives and sales support goals. He also acts as our database administrator. He excels at building customer-focused action plans to help companies reach their business goals.