Volume 22
Employment Essentials Volume 22: The True Cost of a bad hire, what red flags to look for, and what you can do about it!
We all know hiring is about finding the right person… but let’s be real, we’ve all been in a pressure situation, where we made a rush hire against our better judgement… and before you know it… you were right all along, and its back to the drawing board.
Hiring the wrong employee doesn’t just hurt the bottom line, it affects team morale, productivity, and even your company’s reputation.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a bad hire can cost up to 30% of that employee’s annual salary. For a role paying $60,000 a year, that’s an $18,000 mistake—not including training, lost time, productivity, and a new search and hire process.
But the real danger? Bad hire doesn’t always reveal themselves right away. They may seem great on paper, and even have a great interview, but within weeks or months, it becomes hard to not see. From missed commitments, conflicts with others, and a toxic attitude, it’s evident what needs to happen next.
Today we dedicate this Masterclass Monday to helping you spot a bad hire before they become a costly mistake with 5 red flags and 5 tips on avoiding them. Let’s get it!
Lack of engagement
From the moment you meet, pay attention to the little things! Did they make eye contact, how was the handshake? What is their tone like, how are they seated? Body language can tell you a lot about a person. Very few people have no social awareness and how to present themselves in public, but for the rest of us, we know better. If someone can’t make it evident that they value and respect your time, and are interested in prioritizing an employment opportunity, they may not be the investment you were looking to make.
Vague or overly general resume and/or answers
If someone can’t specify more about a role or a skill, it implies one of three things, and none of them are good. First, they had a minimal impact in that role and don’t know it well enough to do it at your company. Second, they are being dishonest, and don’t have the experience. Third, they can’t properly communicate or express themselves, which can have other consequences with the team.
Inconsistent work history or dates of employment
Frequent job hopping, unexplainable gaps, too many short-term roles, and mismatched dates are a huge indicator of performance issues, or lack of job commitment. Most jobs are performance based, and every company is looking for star players. When assessing a resume and you come across the work history mayhem, ask yourself, what is the work history telling me about the person? Would I like that type of commitment to my team?
Lack of preparation
A candidate that knows little about your company or the job at hand is not particularly interested in your company but maybe just applying to as many jobs as possible and seeing who hires first, or who pays the most. There may be other reasons of course, but if anyone is showing legitimate interest in anything, they put forth effort, even if its minimal. Interviewing is no different. We all need work, but you also need someone who cares about their job.
Poor culture fit
If you have a good culture, it’s safe to say, you mean, productive, respectful, and collaborative. Pay attention to the candidate’s attitude, from how they speak about past employers, if they are respectful of the interview process, their choice of words, and how they’ve treated your staff. It is important to preserve the positive attributes your existing team has and not spoil it with a bad hire.
So how can we mitigate these bad hires?
Standardize your hiring process
Use a consistent process that covers work history, dates of employment, skills-based questions, as well as behavioral questions. Then you can feel confident you have consistent reference points, and past examples to compare that interview to. Have HR and TA have as part of the interviewing process so there is a constant partial feedback regardless of which department they interviewed at. \
Go beyond superficial questions
Ask for examples, case studies, or problem solving exercises with them to properly gauge their level of competency or level of experience. Don’t be satisfied or conformed with yes or no answers. If they have the experience, they should be able to pull from a handful of experiences and share them with you.
Prioritize your culture
Ask behavioral questions to get an idea of how they respond to different scenarios, feel free to give real life examples, and hear what their thought process sounds like. How do they think of others, those above them, beneath them? Are they adaptable? All of these things may not occur every day, but the day it does, and your team isn’t working together, it can be a bigger mistake than necessary.
Work with FLAG!
A trusted recruiting partner like FLAG can help you vet candidates more effectively before they even hit your inbox. Any candidate you see from our team has already gone though multiple screening steps to address skill, attitude, and commitment, so your team can focus productivity, while we focus on quality for you.
Final thought
Hire slow, fire fast
Take the extra time to find the right person. The time, energy, money, frustration, and team spirit wasted are not worth it.
Prioritize building a strategic hiring process that prioritizes quality over speed, and your company’s values!
Employee Insights Volume 22
Have you ever wondered why some people get job offers without even applying, while others send out tons of resumes and don’t even get a response? The secret isn’t just applying, it’s making recruiters interested in speaking with you, and todays Masterclass Monday shows you how!
The truth is, close to 75% of resumes are never considered by recruiters or ATS systems. Recruiters and HR professionals have a limited amount of time to source and screen for resumes so chances are that if you don’t have a compelling resume, you will be screened out, not in. Realistically, your resume has no more than 60 seconds to catch the attention of a recruiter and that’s IF the ATS or Resume Database didn’t add your resume to the search results.
As you can see, there are hurdles in the way but it’s also apparent that there are “Best Practices” you can incorporate on your next search to add your resume to the top of that search! Today’s Masterclass Monday gives you the Top 8 tips to make sure your resume doesn’t get passe on.
Use relevant Keywords
Search the Job Description for technical keywords you can add to your resume such as similar machinery or software you’ve used, parts, materials, equipment, tools, etc.
Be explicit! If the job description says, “project management” don’t just say, “oversaw projects”.Include a Skills section
Keep it objective. Add technical skills, certifications, software, tools, and job functions.
This helps for easy scanning of your resume and helps search algorithms send your resume to the top of the search.Use bullet points for easy reading
Write out full thoughts and sentences explaining what you do.
Don’t just write out “forklift”, but rather, operate a sit down forklift to pick orders and prepare them for shipping.Avoid overused buzzwords
These words have lost almost all meaning in the recruitment space. “Hardworking, active listener, team player, results driven”, etc.
Instead, focus on measurable results you can proudly share.Use standard Job titles
If your current title is “Line Technician 2” referring to being in the maintenance department, change it “Maintenance Mechanic 2” so recruiters can find you easier. While “Sandwich Artist” may sound cooler than “Crew member” it wont help your resume get any more views if they cant find you.
Add numbers
If you are in a call center, it is more effective to say you handled upwards of “100+ calls per day” than just saying you answered customer calls. Companies care about your level of capacity. If relevant to your job, add KPI’s and OEE’s and any other percentages of how you positively affected your team.
Ditch the Generic Objective Statement
Instead of the generic “Looking for a company where I can use my skills to help the company…”.
Instead, write a powerful summary of your skills and achievements in 2-3 sentences. It is more relevant and won’t get skipped as the generic version.
Turn on your “Open to Work” on LinkedIn
Use LinkedIn’s private setting to let recruiters see you’re in the job market without alerting your employer.
The best tip for having a recruiter help you with your search is to connect with a FLAG recruiter! We are known for our dedication and professionalism in helping candidates like you throughout every step in the way. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, call us today!