6 Red Flags To Watch Out For When Hiring Your Next Employee

If you have ever thought twice about your organization’s long hiring process, consider these points.

• 80 percent of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions. (Source: Harvard Business Review) 
• It costs $7,000 to replace a salaried employee, $10,000 to replace a mid-level employee, and $40,000 to replace a senior executive. (Source: HR.com)

Drawbacks related to bad hiring decisions are endless. Thus, be mindful of what to look for in candidates during the hiring process. Here are six hiring red flags:

1 – The Candidate is Late to the Interview

While something could have derailed a candidate on the way to the interview, people who are perpetually late show a lack of respect for other people’s time. You do not want to battle a perpetually late employee, so pay attention to this.

2 – The Candidate Knows Little About Your Organization

Assess the knowledge a candidate possess about your organization to gauge the amount of research the candidate has done prior to the interview. This will reveal the level of passion and gusto the candidate has for the prospective job and working for your organization. If the candidate has not done any research, it will be evident and you might want to count that against them.

3 – The Candidate is All Jokes

While it’s important to keep an interview light, some candidates’ skill is masked behind humor. You hear a hiring manager say He was lighthearted and funny, so we hired him. While you definitely want to establish a personal connection with a candidate, you don’t want to make a hiring decision primarily based on personality. The candidate should be a good fit personality-wise with your team, but should also possess key skills required for the job at hand.

4 –  The Candidate Has Poor Correspondence

If you struggle to reach a candidate by phone or email, leaving countless emails and voicemails, this often signals trouble ahead. If a candidate seems difficult to get a hold of, it’s probably because they probably are and they might not prioritize with the professional side of their life. Conversely, someone who is eager and quick to respond to you will likely be more motivated and excited for the position ahead.

5 – The Candidate Has No Follow Up Questions

Typically at the end of each interview, you leave the floor to the candidate. If the candidate has no follow up questions and expresses little interest in the next steps, chalk that up as flag for future issues. The candidate should be keenly interested in your organization, the potential role, their future team, and even logistical questions like salary, hire date, and next steps of the hiring process.

6 – The Candidate Can’t Provide References

If a candidate can’t provide you with supervisory references — that are recent in the past five years — consider this a warning sign. If they can’t secure a reference that can vouch for them, they might not be a quality hire. References reveal so much about a candidate, so it’s really important you have a list of recent references that are not only lateral-level references.

No matter the size or budget of your team, no organization can afford poor hiring decisions. Resources like time, energy, and money are wasted away with just one bad hire. Listen to your internal voice, follow a few pointers, decide what red flags are deal breakers, and you will be on your way to hiring mastery!

Have we missed any additional red flags? Add your thoughts in the comment box below.