TOP Hiring Mistakes to Avoid
Dealing with the difficult issues is a boss’ lot in life. Can I get an A-MEN?! There’s definitely not just sunshine and rainbows when you’re the owner of a business. Particularly when it comes to recruiting for your business. Here are six colossal mistakes that employers face when looking for a salesperson.
#1: Your Job Description is UNCLEAR – or, non-existent...
How are you supposed to hire the perfect employee to fit the requirements that your business needs if you don’t know what you want? It’s an extremely common mistake to announce that you’re starting to recruit without actually determining the essentials of the job position and also having a clear and concise job description. Expecting the BRAND-NEW employee to know what to do in your company from the first day that they walk into your business is extremely unrealistic. I mean, it’s wonderful if they can just hit the ground running, but it’s also important to not assume that this will be the case.
You can’t hire the perfect salesperson if you don’t know who you want. The most common hiring mistake is to announce you’re hiring without even determining the essentials of the job position and writing a decent job description. If you’re expecting that the right sales rep will know what to do in your company from the first second of his working day, you’re wrong.
Before even putting the word out that you’re hiring, define the clear duties the job will involve, required skills and experience, who the person will report to and the type of personality that will cooperate well with your business goals. Based on the specifications you created, the job posting will reflect your business peculiarities and will help you narrow your choice, attracting qualified candidates who understand the role.
Mistake #2: Exhausting Your Time Resources on Interviewing
When you start to plan out interviews with your sales managers (if you have them), get specific. Plan the number of candidates out, which interviews YOU would like to be directly involved in and at what stage of the process, and how much time you will allocate to those interviews, and have your entire interview structure set out, questions and all ready to go. Leaving this up to the last minute can place you in the situation where you are having 6 interviews a day, 5 days a week. Say goodbye to productivity and say hello to exhaustion levels. Let’s be real, doing it this way will have you despising mankind at the end of this marathon.
Investing that initial time at the start to set up clear time limits is going to move this process along nicely. Generally speaking, an interview should last from 30-40 minutes MAX. Sometimes, even a 30-minute discussion can lead to productive cooperation but going under 30 minutes could be a sign of the candidate’s compatibility for the role and the company.
Mistake #3: Too many candidates…
This is a big no no… and a mistake that many entrepreneurs make. They post the job anywhere and everywhere, attracting candidates from all walks of life.
If your job description is comprehensive and specific, you will be far more likely to attract the candidates that you are looking for, specifically. The last thing time poor business owners want to do is get stuck with CV’s, weeding through piles of applications that take them away from the original requirements of the job. If you were to carefully evaluate every single CV you receive for a job, you would never find someone for the role. There is never a perfect CV, so it’s important to be extremely specific in your job advertisement. Remember, sometimes less is MORE.
Mistake #4: No interview preparation…
Here is the reality check I’m sure you’ve been waiting for… the salesperson is not the only one who’s expected to come fully prepared for the interview. It doesn’t matter how many interviews you have held; it is important to be prepared well and truly before each new interview takes place. Review the resume, define what the most interesting detail or controversial information is and be prepared to tailor questions. Keep in mind, a poor interview experience can result in the candidate’s perception of the company being tarnished.
Mistake #5: No Reference Checks…
Finding that perfect employee is nearly impossible, and when you finally find a sales rep that might be a great fit for your business goals, it’s really tempting to just skip that final step – checking the references!
Finding the perfect employee isn’t easy, and when you finally see the sales representative who might be the perfect fit for your business goals, it’s so tempting to skip the seemingly unnecessary step of checking their references. It’s one of the most common and painful hiring mistakes you can make and certainly the one you’ll want to avoid by all means. The stories about sales reps stealing the customer base or being quite a grumpy person are not that rare. For some business owners It may seem uncomfortable at first but checking references can help you form valuable insight into the sales rep’s background and predict their behaviour.
Mistake #6: Character Evaluation
A positive company culture is important, so weighing up a candidate’s values and personality is highly important to ensure they are on board with your company mission and vision. So often we lean into a skill set and overlook personality in an interview process. One way to tackle this issue is to allow some time at the end of an interview to open up candid and casual conversation… asking more personal questions or just having more casual conversation. This will be important to allow candidates to relax and show you more of a glimpse of their true personality, values or even sense of humour. The last thing you want is to make a hire based on skill set alone and find that they are a horrible fit for your business.
For our streamlined and personalised talent acquisition guide, which outlines a step by step process, and complete question guide, get in touch.
- Bonnie Young
Director, Beon Group Australia