Many companies have an issue with the credibility of online institutions and the degrees they issueModern recruiters have it quite easy. With modern recruiting tools, such as social media, and big data applications, recruiting isn’t the painstaking gamble it was just a decade ago.
However, there is always room for improvement, and advancements in technology do not mean that there won’t be any recruitment mistakes or gaffes.
As a matter of fact, there are some recruiting practices that are deeply embedded in the minds of recruiters but they don’t really apply today.
Here we’ve compiled a list of some outdated recruiting practices that don’t work any longer:
1. Overlooking the candidates with online degrees
Many companies have an issue with the credibility of online institutions and the degrees they issue. However, the rise of online course has led to some professionally viable courses. Today education is available online and it would be a pity to ignore this aspect.
In reality, US-based studies show that those classes that blend the regular education system with an online learning aspect produce better workforce. This is why the university like Yale is now looking forward to offering online degrees.
If a recruiter still finds a candidate’s online degree dubious, they can always check out the Department of Education in their respective countries. These would usually be enough to verify the authenticity and credibility of any degree from an online educational institution.
2. Selecting a candidate based only on his work experience
Usually, recruiters base their decisions about a candidate after analyzing his past work experience which is not the right approach. Since there could be many reasons for someone under-performing in a job, it is not right to select or reject a candidate based only on his previous job.
Work environment, personal issues, problems with coworkers, or simply an underpaid job could be the reasons why a candidate could not give his best shot at his previous job role. A high-performing worker could demand some acknowledgement and a decent salary package.
Unfortunately not many employers give the due acknowledgement to their subordinates who make the workers feel unvalued and they end up performing below their level.
So if a candidate turns to you for a job, you should not evaluate him solely on how he performed in his previous job and rather think about what he is able to contribute to your organization.
3. Focusing only on job-related skills
This might sound like an inherently obvious fact but is now essentially a recruiting myth. This is because very few new employees actually end up failing in their work environments due to several reasons other than their job-related skills. The proper attitude, temperament, intelligence, motivation, and ability to network are all important factors that also decide whether a candidate is suitable for the job or not.
So if you have one candidate with a high level of skill but a depressing attitude, and another with an upbeat, eager, and intelligent attitude, you would probably be better off going with the latter. Technical skills can be learned on the job, in training sessions, or one can even pick them up as they go, but attitude development could take a lifetime.
Hence, when stuck between the last few candidates on your shortlist, you should perform a little test to see which one of the group is the most motivated, with the best temperament suited for the company, and is the most willing to learn. Even if a person does not have skills or even experience, if he learns well, he could become a valuable asset to the company very soon.
Wrapping up…
Employees are the crux of the working process within any company. Hiring new employees is a difficult job, requiring time, money, effort, and emotion. In order to make sure that valuable resources do not go to waste, the hiring process must be modern and with the times. Hence, a broader way of thinking should replace the outdated recruiting practices like the ones described above.
In any case, a company should ideally look at the specific job requirement it has and its own unique work environment. A candidate who can both fit into the work environment as well as fulfill the job description is probably the man for the job, regardless of past experience or even references.
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