Recently I came across a thoughtful piece in People Matters magazine, June issue that

talks about factors influencing our selection process while Recruiting. It made me ponder

how our personal experiences sometimes let right talent slip away from our hands. Being

a Recruiter, we’re the face of a company and how we deal shapes our image as Employer

brand.

The post mainly talks about three defects or rather I should say sins (sorry, my personal

take) that can hamper the process. Stay relaxed as these can be easily washed away with

our consciousness, deliberately while making hiring happen.

The author, a scholastic personality Madan Pillutla explained it nicely how recruiters

make choices when selecting the candidates.

Primarily these three sins can be summarized as:

1 Similarity–This one is close. I remember hiring many people just because they are my

types but is that sufficient or right thing to do? Not always. The best talent comes from

diverse backgrounds, and that breeds the best of team culture in a company. Take Tech

talent, for example, San Francisco Bay Area comes first than Seattle and Austin. So

Recruiters should refrain from hiring identical types.

2 Stereotypes- This is true, but we do suffer from stereotypes when it comes to talent.

The finest example of this would be Sweden synchronized skating that makes them top

the creativity chart around the globe. Take Hungary, a small country that hosts the

brightest talent in mathematics talent when it comes to Olympiads. So one should not be

biased in picking candidates from his favorite regions or else this would keep the talent at

bay.

3 Perceptions– This is very rightly said,” We all are victim to our fears.” While

Recruiters make their next hire, fear sometimes cripples in and stops them from hiring

outstanding candidates. Thoughts like these are very common; whether the new hire will

bring value to my team and enhance my presence in the team or will be a non-performer.

Especially for the Mangers, they find it difficult to hire a competitive person taking over

the charge and overshadowing their presence.

Other fears can be adjustment issues. Usually, HR doesn’t have any threat in their domain

but usually on technology & finance side issues may erupt in. HR can bridge concerns

like these before erupting aligning them with a common objective.

What’s your take on this? Do you make the same mistakes or try a new one? Let us know

by your comments. We’d love to hear them.