Avoid These Common Recruitment Mistakes
4 Job Posting Mistakes
Recruitment is a time-consuming process that takes away from a hiring manager’s day-to-day tasks. But lets’ face it, finding talent is vital to the success of an organization. How an organization recruits can directly impact the company culture and employer branding.
Here are recruitment mistakes employers often make when posting job openings:
1. Posting a Current Employee’s Job
A quick way to lose employee trust is to post job openings when there isn’t an opening. If you have multiple people in the same job, it is fine to keep a job posted to build your talent pipeline. However, if you only have one AR Specialist and you post for an AR Specialist, people will find out and talk. When this happens, your employees begin to wonder “Who is going to be next?” and “Is my job posted too?” Be open and honest with your employees including the person you are terminating.
Our advice: Cut your losses and then post the opening. If a position is truly crucial and the business can’t go without someone in the role, consider using a 3rd party recruiter to add a layer of confidentiality to the job search.
2. Not Posting Job Opportunities Internally
When an employee leaves, this is a great time to assess a company’s organizational chart and make changes. Too often, employers don’t look at their current staff. If employees are interested in advancement and they are not allowed an opportunity to move up, they will pursue other opportunities. Don’t put employees in a box by making assumptions like “She probably can’t work the overtime needed” and “He hasn’t been a supervisor before.”
Our advice: Post all openings internally. Give your employees an opportunity for advancement. Give them a fair interview. And if they aren’t ready, this is a perfect time for coaching and development. Otherwise, employees may resent the company and eventually leave…creating more recruitment!
3. Using Bias Language in Job Postings
Are you hiring for someone with 3-5 years of graphic design experience? If so, does this mean a graphic designer with 15 years of experience is not qualified? Or are you looking for a part-time assistant who must be energetic and compassionate? Do you think of a male when you read that?
Most of the time, bias in job postings is unintentional but it may be unintentionally telling applicants not to apply.
Our advice: Review job postings for non-inclusive language. Not sure where to start? Check out this study regarding the use of masculine and feminine words in job postings and run your job posting through the free Gender Decoder site to avoid using language that may discourage women from applying. This article from Fisher Phillips offers great suggestions about attracting diverse candidates.
4. Posting the Pay Range
Compensation is an important part of the recruitment equation and pay transparency is important. However, when an employer posts a range of $25-30/hour, most applicants go to the high end of the scale. Most employers reserve the high end of the pay scale for that perfect candidate but how do you explain that tactfully to a candidate you like when they are expecting $30/hour?
Our advice: Share the starting pay in the job posting and save the pay range discussion for later in the interview process. In California, the Fair Pay Act requires prospective employers to share pay ranges if a candidate inquires and outlines that employers can not ask about salary history.
Recruitment is a combination of skill and art to find the right people for the right jobs the right way. If not done properly, employers will find themselves in an endless cycle of recruitment and that is costly to the business.
Need help with posting your job openings? We offer Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). Contact us today to learn more!