Based on true stories.

Not everyone is the right person for sitting in the recruiter’s chair. It is an art in itself to be able to conduct an interview, select suitable candidates and do justice to the perks that the job has to offer.

These are some situations and attitudes collected over the years that should be avoided.

Asking a successful candidate to start straight away.

What this will do is convey an image of weakness and frankly, desperation. It will also create a false sense of superiority for the candidate, who will see himself/herself as so valuable that you couldn’t wait to hire them. In addition, it will confuse the candidate (is this company innovative and forward thinking enough to take this risk or did the previous employee simply storm out, left a mess and there is no contingency plan in place?)

Stopping an interview after introduction because you can tell straight away they’re not suitable for the role.

Each candidate should be given the courtesy of being able to present themselves properly and emphasise why they think they should get the job. You might not want to spend too much time on a candidate that is clearly not right but don’t get up half a second in and say ‘thank you for coming’.

Being too honest.

Don’t ask a candidate if they have questions and when they address them, say ‘that’s a stupid question’. As a recruiter or business owner, you are the image of the company. Avoid being too blunt or rude, even if you feel like it. Think about what the first thing is that candidates do after their interview: they call someone to tell them how it went. You don’t want them to say that they don’t care if they got the job or not, the company’s a bit of a joke anyway.

Advertising high wages and then negotiating a way lower offer, ‘because they’re lacking some skills’.

What the candidate thinks when you do this: ‘I’m grateful for the opportunity but I do have what’s needed, what’s she/he on about?’. And even if they do accept the lower offer, unless you have other company perks or a great organisational culture, it’s highly unlikely that they will stick around., because it’s not why they wanted to join in the first place.

In conclusion, if you really want to get recruitment right, try and put yourself in the candidate’s shoes and make sure that your processes bring results and are effective but also ethical and fair.