Nobody likes to have to go through a hiring process. It’s tedious and time-consuming, and there never seems to be a right answer for the One Way To Do It Best.

However, there are a few things that hiring managers do to unknowingly sabotage their own process. Here are our tips:

1. Decide what you want, and prep your recruiters accordingly. Some hiring managers like a trial-and-error method of hiring. “Let’s just post the job and see what comes back to us, then go from there,” they might think. Meanwhile, the recruiters or HR personnel who go out searching for these candidates don’t really know what they’re looking for, and by the time they deduct the right type of candidate from the various feedback on resumes, they’re exhausted, disheartened, and maybe disengaged. Figure out early in the process what you need in a new hire, and be precise in your terminology with recruiters, because these will turn into key search words as they comb through candidates.

2. Be responsive. There is a tight market out there for some types of candidates, and the most highly qualified are gone in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. If you take even a few days to answer applications or recruiters’ e-mails, it could be too late. Even an immediate “yes” or a “no” is helpful, allowing recruiters to continue the search accordingly. In a worst case scenario, you become the hiring manager notorious for delayed feedback, and recruiters (and candidates) choose to prioritize your positions last.

3. Adjust your interview process to the supply of candidates. It’s true that you don’t want your decisions to be made through a process so cursory that you end up with a bad hire. On the other hand, we have seen everything from three-to-six hour code tests, outdated tests, online tests with both psychological and logical questions, third and fourth interviews, etc. Consider who you are trying to hire, and if the available supply for that type of candidate is low (your recruiters can tell you). If so, realize that you are competing with many other companies looking for the best talent. In addition, word spreads fast about who has the most painful interview process. If you’re Google or Amazon, it won’t matter. If you’re not, then start making changes.

For quicker technical interviews, specifically: 1) Ask open-ended questions that are actually relevant to the position, and leave out the esoteric, then listen to how detailed the answer is. 2) Turn the “build a 3-tier application test” into a quicker, even fun, coding test that can be finished within 30 minutes. I’ve had developers reject companies outright before the interview process even started, based on the very involved code test. The best candidates are employed, and they have their own coding problems to solve. 3) Pay attention to personality; many candidates can come off nervous or awkward, but can everyone work together? That’s the most important question to answer.

4. Have the toughest person on your interview panel go first - or, if he’s unreasonable, leave him out altogether. If you have a technical lead who you trust to green light a good candidate in the process, have him or her conduct the initial technical screen. We’ve seen companies put candidates through lengthy interview processes (phone, code test, in-person interview, second in-person, etc.) only to have the last interviewer in line shoot them down. Unless this last person is a C-level executive, save (almost) everyone’s time by having this person kick off the process.

There’s no magical way of hiring. The quickest hires come about either by making a fast and risky decision, or moving quickly through an efficient process. The latter is the least expensive and safest way to avoid bad hires.

Best of luck, and happy hiring!

-Joyce Jordan, Talent Relations

Image via Jonboy Mitchell