8 Hiring Mistakes to Avoid, According to Sales Managers

As the cheesy saying goes, there is no "I" in team. However, there are a few in "hiring mistake."

雇用良好，你更有可能拥有高度表现和快乐的团队。只是一个错误的人，俗称一个“招聘错误”，你会花很多时间，精力和钱试图修复你的团队。

事实上,一个最昂贵的错误n make is hiring the wrong rep. When factoring in salary, hiring costs, resources spent training, termination expenses, and productivity losses, a single bad hire can cost an organizationover $380,000。In other words, as a hiring manager you want to do everything you can to bring the right candidates on your team.

To hire well, you need to have an effective process full of checks and balances in place. We asked HubSpot sales managers for their tips for avoiding costly hiring mistakes. Here’s what they had to say.

Hiring Mistakes to Avoid

1. Writing unclear or ineffective job descriptions.

Many hiring managers approach the hiring process feeling like they’ll know the right candidate when they meet them. That mindset can lead to terrible inefficiencies, and leaves room for bias to impact hiring decisions. Interviews are time consuming; you’ll waste a lot of time talking to the wrong people if you don’t take a first step of putting a thorough and accurate job description down on paper.

The job description serves a couple of important purposes. First, it tells the candidate what the job will be like and who you are looking for. Second, it forces you to be thoughtful about the attributes someone must have or be willing to develop to be successful in this role.

写作扎实的工作描述的行使将有助于您设想这个人将在日常工作以及需要做好工作所需的技能和经验。请务必包含两个部分：

A list of the job responsibilities with descriptions of each.
理想候选人将拥有的技能，经验和个人特征（或愿意学习）。

2. Taking a passive approach to sourcing.

即使您有招聘人员支持您的招聘努力（幸运的是！）或源源不断的入境恢复，您应该正在做出一些自己的采购。这就是为什么：执行出境参与可以帮助您与各种申请人联系，这些申请人是一个良好的角色，但谁可能没有找到您的上市。

Need help reaching out to potential candidates? Start on LinkedIn and use the platform’s filters and search functions to help you comb through profiles efficiently. When you’re ready to reach out, send a very personalized message to those who meet the qualifications of the role.

Keep in mind that candidates tend to be more receptive to hiring managers than recruiters — and even if they don’t bite, their response will help give you a pulse on the market. If you come across a few strong candidates, encourage them to apply.

Once you're done combing through online profiles, get your network involved. Employee referrals are ideal for a few reasons. According to research conducted by艾琳, companies are able to save $7,500 per hire in productivity and sourcing costs. Additionally, candidates hired through employee referrals are more likely to stay in their role longer, with45％的推荐雇用staying for longer than four years.

3. Solely basing hiring decisions on the candidate’s work history.

是的，以前的经验是在制定良好的招聘决策时重要的考虑因素，但这不应该是唯一的决定因素。

包括Hubspot销售经理Pratik'Tiki'Biswal, this is a trap many managers fall into. He says:

"A common mistake made during the hiring process is assuming that a candidate will be successful at your company simply because they were successful at a company that sells a similar product.

For example, when I first got into management and started recruiting LinkedIn, I quickly decided to target candidates from other SaaS companies. I assumed that because these reps had SaaS experience, they would be able to plug right into HubSpot and have an immediate impact — that wasn’t always the case.

The learning lesson here is to not make assumptions that a candidate will be a great fit just because they have a similar role today. Do the proper due diligence during the interview process — ask for a detailed explanation of their sales process, sales attainment and funnel metrics, and don’t forget to utilize references."

当招聘和面试候选人position, look beyond what’s listed on their resumé to gain insight on their communication style, thought process, and potential to add value to your team.

Biswal adds in some instances, experiences in other industries can be beneficial. From his experience, "Sometimes the best hires come from a totally different industry or background. Be open-minded and seek candidates with diverse experiences to build a well-rounded team."

4.在筛选会议期间缺乏结构。

You will probably have to talk to dozens of candidates, so be strict about keeping the first phone screen or meeting to just 30 minutes. The goal is to use those 30 minutes wisely. If you’re not prepared, you might end up hanging up the phone not knowing whether or not you should move forward with the candidate.

为避免这种情况，请创建您计划询问候选人的问题概要。旨在包括探索行为，技能和批判性思维的问题。有一系列问题，你会问每个人，以便你有一些很好的比较点，以及每个候选人的一套定制问题，基于他们的应用和经验。个性化问题应为您在审核初始申请后不确定的地区提供清晰度。

Once you're on the call, don’t fire off the questions like an interrogation. Instead, use your outline to help guide a natural conversation. If you need to get to a new topic, or find a candidate rambling, use a transition such as "You’ve given me a great understanding of (topic x), so now I’d like to shift gears and talk about (topic y)."

After the conversation, write down your observations as soon as you can to avoid forgetting pertinent information. Use these initial conversations as a checkpoint in determining if a candidate should continue moving through the process.

5. Bringing in the wrong interview panel.

If the candidate makes it through the initial screening and anyassessments(if that’s part of your hiring process), it’s time to bring them in for a round of interviews. As the candidate makes their rounds through the interview process, you’ll want to give them a chance to connect with you, the hiring manager, your superior, and one of your team members. It is important to include the main stakeholders this person must work with well to be successful.

在组装面试团队时，您还有一个不同的人参加。根据思科，采访面板，具有性别和族裔多样性，提高了雇用70％的黑人候选人的可能性，拉丁裔和妇女候选人50％。

Work with the members of your interview panel to ensure they are prepared and feel comfortable with their role in the process.

6.未能充分准备面试。

Like with the initial phone screening, hiring managers and panelists should adequately prepare to conduct a thoughtful interview. According to HubSpot Sales ManagerMike Fradette，候选人常常与他们在表面级别取得的成功方面谈论，然而，通过充分准备面试经理可以准备好进入谈话。

He says:

“如果您发现候选人未在面试期间没有解决关键话题，则通过准备方式询问特定经验的好方法是。

经理应彻底审查候选人的简历，以确定候选人决定展示的能力和成就。写下它们并确保您在面试中讨论了这些主题。“

By showing up to the interview prepared to speak to each individual candidate, managers and other members of the hiring team are in a better position to ask pointed, thoughtful follow-up questions, potentially identifying the best candidate.

7.在现场提出面试问题。

Though asking follow-up questions throughout the course of the conversation can be appropriate, both the interviewer and interviewee can benefit from having structured questions throughout the interview to keep the conversation on track. That’s why preparing a一组问题提前提前是面试过程的重要组成部分。

根据Niaya Love-Kirksey是一名招聘人员，为HUBSPOT的销售团队，许多候选人可以在他们的面试问题中漫步而不会提供坚实的答案。

She recommends candidates follow the STAR method to answer interview questions by sharing the situation, what the task was, what action the candidate took, and the result. As you prepare questions for your candidates, keep this method in mind. If a candidate wouldn’t be able to answer the question using the STAR method, you may want to consider rephrasing it.