Things to avoid in an employer

For prospective employees, interviews are great way to get a look at a business and gauge the behaviour, beliefs and attitudes of future employers. As you talk, you’ll be able to see if it is the right fit and decide if you’ll be happy there. Likewise, interviews are an opportunity for employers to determine the type of employee you are going to be.

Yet what should you look out for during the interview process? Are there certain behaviours/characteristics/habits you should avoid in an employer?

Below, we shall cover 7 things that could deter prospective talent from choosing to work for your business?

• Unable to explain the role – you might lose talent if you leave them with a host of unanswered questions, especially about the role itself and what it entails. If you cannot explain the role, this will leave the impression that you haven’t thought the position through or aren’t confident with what you’ve got to offer.

Instead, by ensuring that you’ve got an answer to every question a candidate may ask about the job description, this will ensure that they walk away with a positive impression of your business.

• The interview process is disorganised – the way you approach the hiring process will act as a reflection of your attitude towards your business. This means, if you come across as disorganised, then you will appear unprofessional to candidates;

Even the small things, such as the way you communicate can influence their opinion, so avoid being vague or giving limited information. Should you force candidates to have to do too much searching, you will appear rude and misleading.

• Don’t follow up on references – whilst you would think that candidates would be relieved that you haven’t followed up, this wouldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, it makes you look like you don’t care, aren’t bothered and are too desperate to fill the post because you aren’t being thorough enough with your screening process. Again, this will leave a negative impression and make them question if you’re a good fit for them;

• Suggest unreasonable working hours – you should always be considerate of the wellbeing and care of your employees, so it is essential that you make their working hours reasonable and that you’re clear on what breaks you offer. REMEMBER: employees have lives outside of work and need a healthy work-life balance. Impose too much and they won’t stay;

• You come across as negative/critical of the person leaving – badmouthing previous employees is a big ‘no-no’ as not only is it unprofessional, it shows that there is conflict in the workplace.

REMEMBER: whilst it is obvious that someone has left – you’re interviewing after all – this negativity should not be part of the interview as it will reflect badly on your business to the point that they won’t accept the job.

• Asking inappropriate questions – the questions you ask will show off the nature of your organisations. Meaning, should you focus too much on personal matters, you won’t be following the correct procedure for forming a hiring decision. Instead your decision will based on things that aren’t relevant to the job;

For this reason, you need to make sure that your focus stays on their skills and experience, and nothing else.

• Current employees look unhappy – REMEMBER: every time you interview someone you will likely give them a tour. And during this tour they WILL look around and pay attention to the body language and attitude of your current employees. Should they come across as stressed, unhappy and unwilling to welcome them/show an interest; then this negativity will influence their opinion of you as an employer.

Employer or employee, interviews are a two way street, and what you say and do WILL influence the others opinion of you.
That is why, we strongly recommend going on an online business management course. As an employer, these courses will help to guide and inform your interactions so every interview finishes on a positive note.

For more information on our courses, visit our website.