The Top 10 Hiring Mistakes Managers Make

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Having worked in search for many years, I listened to thousands of hiring managers, human resource professionals, and executive leaders at the beginning of the hiring process, in the middle, as they were hiring someone, and after a person was on board with them. After all, I needed to learn how they think and evaluate talent to fill a position successfully.

As a coach, I help job hunters navigate their job search AND employers hire more effectively. I use the lessons that I learned as an executive recruiter to streamline the process for both.

Statistics show approximately 46% of new hires fail within 18 months. In addition, according to a survey reported by Harvard Business Review, nearly half of the leaders who are hired from outside an organization fail within the first 18 months. Worldwide employee engagement is at 15%, based on the findings of Gallup’s “State of the Global Workplace” report. No one goes out of their way to attain results like this, but it’s clear to me that no one is hiring with the end in mind.

Here are what I believe are the top 10 hiring mistakes I’ve seen hiring managers make that result in these hiring failures. They are easily correctable and, if you do so, you will eliminate many of the hiring mistakes you might make.