Tips to Avoid Common Hiring Mistakes

As the weather warms and winter works its way into our rearview mirror, small businesses generally begin ramping up staffing. Hiring new employees can be a drag on resources—it takes time, money, and a whole lot of patience to navigate the process of interviewing and onboarding. The good news? We’ve got a few tips to help you avoid common hiring mistakes. Ready to dive in?

Understand Your Needs 

You know you need more staff, but what are the actual needs of your business? Beyond looking for talent to fill an empty position, consider where you want your business to be in the next several years. Revisit your goals, remember your values, and focus on candidates with qualifications that can help you focus on both of these areas. This will make the hiring process much more efficient, plus it will allow you to hire employees with an immediate interest in helping your company grow. And remember that these needs might change over time, so don’t be shy about revisiting these qualifications over time.

Outline the Ideal Candidate 

You’ve got your business needs outlined and the job posting updated, so what about the ideal candidate? Not only should your pool of hopefuls help you reach your business goals, they should also be in alignment with your company culture. It’s easy to look at hard skills when assessing resumes; a common mistake managers make is overlooking the soft skills, like emotional intelligence and empathy. During interviews, focus on the candidates’ personality—will it mesh with your existing company culture? And if their personality is great but their skillset is lacking in some areas, are they willing to learn new things? When it comes to hiring, “vibe” is the key word to home in on. 

Amp Up the Job Listing 

So far, our tips have had a major push on making sure you’re communicating your business values in every area of the candidate search. This same applies to the job posting itself. Often, job listings talk up the hard skills we mentioned above. If you’re not pushing your business culture in a job posting, you run the risk of only getting applicants with those hard skills. Job postings should be almost like a marketing pitch. Shine a light on the job requirements, but don’t discount pushing the company culture and its benefits. And don’t be shy about putting yourself in the applicant’s shoes: What would your ideal candidate be looking for in a job? Pepper those words and phrases into your listing to increase the amount of great talent who will see the job posting.

Hiring new employees can be an overwhelming task, but with the right strategies in place it can be far less daunting. So, while your focus is on bringing on the best talent, consider the peace of mind you’ll have knowing you’ve got access to cash-on-hand for unexpected business issues. With a line of credit from ARF Financial, you won’t have to provide any collateral. You’ll also benefit from 24-hour access to 5 separate loan drafts over a 6-month period, plus we offer same-day approval and financing within 48 hours. Apply today to see what you qualify for!