Six Recruiting Mistakes You Don't Want to Make

​An effective recruitment process is quite in-depth and well-thought-out. It needs certain preparation, time and money invested. A well-organized recruitment process should be able to find and select the talent the company needs in 4-8 weeks for most positions.

However, recruiters often make mistakes that drive talent away. The mistakes can range from not asking the right questions to merely your attitude towards the candidate. No recruitment plan can be perfect but avoid these 6 mistakes and you’ll be more successful with higher quality candidates.
 

1. Not Maximizing Job Advertising

Candidates have many choices on where they can look for jobs. An ag recruitment process is greatly supported by job advertising. One of the biggest mistakes hiring managers make is only posting their job on their own website or in one place, and letting the candidates come to them.  In this type of job market, you can't sit back and wait. 

Consider posting your job on niche job boards such as AgHires to attract industry talent. Also post your opportunities on social media, whether that is your company’s pages or a third party. Learn more about using social media to recruit for your ag business.  

You can also utilize AgHires’ candidate sourcing services where recruiters will reach out to passive candidates on your behalf and attract them to your opening.  

2. Not Pre-screening

Pre-screening candidates can save a lot of time. It’s recommended to talk on the phone with candidates before inviting them for in-person interviews. All you need is 15 minutes with a candidate on the phone to determine if they meet the basic requirements of the job and are a potential culture fit. Having a candidate come to your location and discover they don’t even have the experience you need could be off-putting. Plus, you’ll save time where you could have been interviewing someone who would have been a better fit. 

3. Not Preparing for the Interview

It is as much of a duty for the company or interviewer to prepare for the interview as it is for the candidate. In industries as intricate as agriculture, you can’t depend on basic questions. During the planning of the recruitment process, you must prepare a list of questions that are tailored to each type of position. Questions should not just be about evaluating the skills and experience of the candidate. Try to also ask a few questions to gauge the personality of the candidate to determine if they will fit within the company’s culture.  

4. Not Marketing the Company

Candidates want to know more about an organization beyond the job description. While your job posting should include a few sentences to summarize who you are and what you do, the right candidates are going to dig deeper to search for more information. They are likely going to search for your website and social media profiles to learn more about your company. That’s why having an online presence is crucial to enhance your recruiting efforts and attract the right talent. If you don’t have a website or social media page, try your best to paint a good picture of your organization in your job description.  

Interviews are also an appropriate time and place to provide the candidate with further information about your company and highlight why they should want to work for you. 

Remember that during the interview process, candidates are vetting your company just as much as you’re vetting them. You need to still “sell” your company and the job, so be prepared to talk about what makes you better to work for than the competition. 

5. Interviews are All Talk

Contrary to popular belief, a job interview should not just be about talking. Have the candidate walk with you around your operation. In the agriculture and food production industry, you can walk the interviewee through many of the ongoing processes of the day. This will give you an opportunity to ask more questions and determine how well the candidate will fit in with your day-to-day operation and give the candidate a visual of where they would be working. This is also a great opportunity to have them meet some of your current team members and see how they interact. 

6. Limiting Your Candidate Pool

Before you start shortlisting, it is important to build up a significant candidate pool. The more options you have, the better chance you have of finding the type of talent you are seeking. This is also helpful if your first round of recruitment fails to yield results. You can always go back to your pool and reopen the search process, and you will already have candidates to work with rather than starting over. If you close off your options right from the beginning, you are likely to settle for less-than-ideal candidates. 

At AgHires, we know that recruiting for your farm or agriculture business is a big undertaking. That’s why we’re here to do the heavy lifting! Our team of expert ag recruiters are ready to tackle even your toughest hiring challenges with a tailored-to-you strategy. We serve as an extension of your team and use strategic messaging to attract top agriculture talent. Learn more about our ag recruitment services or schedule a time to meet with us.