Hiring top talent is hard enough for small businesses. Don't make it more challenging with these five common recruitment and hiring mistakes. For more info on recruitment and hiring, download our free eGuide, Employer Branding Toolkit, at the following link: http://bit.ly/employerbrandingtoolkit

1. 5 hiring mistakes
that every small
business makes
Tips from the Workopolis eGuide:
Employer branding toolkit

2. Finding quality job candidates is hard.

3. Finding quality job candidates is hard.
Especially for small businesses trying to compete for top talent.

4. Don’t make your hiring process even more
challenging with these common mistakes.

5. Mistake #1: Not formatting your job postings

6. If your job posting is an
unappealing mass of text,
candidates will rarely give it
a second look.
6
Not formatting your job postings
WANTED: WEB
DEVELOPER-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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7. If your job posting is an
unappealing mass of text,
candidates will rarely give it
a second look.
That means you’re
wasting your hiring
budget on a job posting
that barely gets seen.
7
Not formatting your job postings
WANTED: WEB
DEVELOPER-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Number of
applications:
0

8. Instead make the text easy to read with:
8
Not formatting your job postings

9. Wanted:
Web developer
Instead make the text easy to read with:
9
Not formatting your job postings
Paragraph breaks
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10. Wanted:
Web developer
Instead make the text easy to read with:
10
Not formatting your job postings
Paragraph breaks Subheads
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Wanted:
Web developer
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11. Wanted:
Web developer
Instead make the text easy to read with:
11
Not formatting your job postings
Paragraph breaks Subheads Bullets
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Wanted:
Web developer
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Wanted:
Web developer
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• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
• ---------------------
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• ---------------
• ------------------------------
• ---------------------------

12. Mistake #1: Not formatting your job postings
Mistake #2: Writing bad postings

13. 13
A job posting can be perfectly formatted, but if the
copy within it isn’t engaging and easy to read,
seekers won’t make it to the “apply now” button.
Writing bad postings

14. 14
Writing bad postings
To get the most out of your job posting, make sure
that your description is:
Company background
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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-----
Duties
• --------------
• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
• ---------------------
• ------------------------
Wanted:
Web guru

15. 15
Writing bad postings
To get the most out of your job posting, make sure
that your description is:
• Short and concise
Company background
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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----
Duties
• --------------
• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
Qualifications
• --------------
• -----------------------------
Wanted:
Web guru

16. 16
Writing bad postings
To get the most out of your job posting, make sure
that your description is:
• Short and concise
• Focused on
qualifications and duties
first Qualifications
• --------------
• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
Duties
• --------------
• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
Company background
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanted:
Web guru

17. 17
Writing bad postings
To get the most out of your job posting, make sure
that your description is:
• Short and concise
• Focused on
qualifications and duties
first
• Free of industry jargon
and slang
Qualifications
• --------------
• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
Duties
• --------------
• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
Company background
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanted:
Web developer

18. 18
Writing bad postings
To get the most out of your job posting, make sure
that your description is:
• Short and concise
• Focused on
qualifications and duties
first
• Free of industry jargon
and slang
• Spell-checked and free
of grammatical errors
Qualifications
• --------------
• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
Duties
• --------------
• -----------------------------
• --------------------------
Company background
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanted:
Web developer

19. 19
Writing bad postings
Want to learn more about
writing amazing job
postings?
Check out our recent
SlideShare presentation,
5 ways to improve
your job posting

20. Mistake #1: Not formatting your job postings
Mistake #2: Writing bad postings
Mistake #3: Asking for the impossible

21. 21
Looking for an UX expert
with 22 years of
experience, a solid
background in marketing
copywriting, social media
know-how and the ability to
speak six languages?
Asking for the impossible

22. Chances are, no candidate will have all the must-haves you’re asking for,
which means you’ll get less applicants.
22
Asking for the impossible

23. Chances are, no candidate will have all the must-haves you’re asking for,
which means you’ll get less applicants. And, you’ll miss out on some
candidates that have a lot to offer.
23
Asking for the impossible

24. Plus, you’ll waste valuable time searching for an impossible candidate.
24
Asking for the impossible

25. Before you begin your candidate search, make sure your
must-haves are logical, realistic, and relevant to your industry.
25
Asking for the impossible

26. Mistake #3: Asking for the impossible
Mistake #4: Coming to the interview unprepared
Mistake #1: Not formatting your job postings
Mistake #2: Writing bad postings

27. Quality candidates do a lot of research and preparation for a job interview.
Good interviewers should do the same.
27
Coming to the interview unprepared

28. When you sit down for an interview and read over an applicant’s resume for
the first time (and yes, they can tell when it’s the first time), it sends the
candidate several messages:
28
Coming to the interview unprepared

29. When you sit down for an interview and read over an applicant’s resume for
the first time (and yes, they can tell when it’s the first time), it sends the
candidate several messages:
29
Coming to the interview unprepared
• You don’t value their time

30. When you sit down for an interview and read over an applicant’s resume for
the first time (and yes, they can tell when it’s the first time), it sends the
candidate several messages:
30
Coming to the interview unprepared
• You don’t value their time
• You’re not excited about their application

31. When you sit down for an interview and read over an applicant’s resume for
the first time (and yes, they can tell when it’s the first time), it sends the
candidate several messages:
31
Coming to the interview unprepared
• You don’t value their time
• You’re not excited about their application
• You’re not an organized workplace

32. Before the interview, read a candidate’s resume and cover letter, and make
notes on any details you’d like to know more about.
32
Coming to the interview unprepared

33. Before the interview, read a candidate’s resume and cover letter, and make
notes on any details you’d like to know more about.
33
Coming to the interview unprepared
The simple phrase, “I’ve looked at your
resume, and…” at the start of the interview
can tell the candidate that you’ve done your
homework, and you’re ready to talk in more
depth.

34. Want to learn more
about interviewer
mistakes?
Check out our recent article,
8 interview mistakes hiring
managers make, and more expert
advice on hiring, management, and HR
at hiring.workopolis.com.

35. Mistake #3: Asking for the impossible
Mistake #4: Coming to the interview unprepared
Mistake #5: Not following up with candidates
Mistake #1: Not formatting your job postings
Mistake #2: Writing bad postings

36. In a Workopolis poll, job seekers who had recently gone through an
interview process were asked how long it took the employer to respond after
their last interview.
36
Not following up with candidates

37. In a Workopolis poll, job seekers who had recently gone through an
interview process were asked how long it took the employer to respond after
their last interview.
37
Not following up with candidates
heard back within a day24%

38. In a Workopolis poll, job seekers who had recently gone through an
interview process were asked how long it took the employer to respond after
their last interview.
38
Not following up with candidates
heard back within a day
heard back in one or two weeks
24%
17%

39. In a Workopolis poll, job seekers who had recently gone through an
interview process were asked how long it took the employer to respond after
their last interview.
39
Not following up with candidates
heard back within a day
heard back in one or two weeks
heard back in over two weeks
24%
17%
15%

40. In a Workopolis poll, job seekers who had recently gone through an
interview process were asked how long it took the employer to respond after
their last interview.
40
Not following up with candidates
heard back within a day
heard back in one or two weeks
heard back in over two weeks
never heard back
24%
17%
15%
43%

41. When a candidate doesn’t
hear back, they are left
wondering what went
wrong.
41
Not following up with candidates
Should I stop
waiting for the
call?
Did I miss the
call? Should I call
them back?
Are they still
deciding?

42. …and when candidates go
through this kind of
experience, they instantly
become detractors of your
brand.
42
Not following up with candidates
Don’t apply
there!
They probably
treat their customers as
badly as their candidates!
They don’t respect
their employees!

43. To avoid ruining your employer brand, follow one simple rule: let candidates
know whether or not they got the job. Every time.
43
Not following up with candidates

44. To avoid ruining your employer brand, follow one simple rule: let candidates
know whether or not they got the job. Every time.
44
Not following up with candidates
• Applicants that don’t receive an interview should get an
email letting them know they’re not moving on to the next
stage (an automated form email is fine).
• Applicants that get an interview should receive a short
phone call letting them know they didn’t receive the job.

45. Ready to learn more?

46. Download the full eGuide:
Employer branding
toolkit
A concise guide to telling top talent why
you’re an employer of choice.

47. Download the full eGuide:
Employer branding
toolkit
Our free eGuide provides impossible-to-
ignore statistics on the importance of
employer branding in the recruitment
process.
Learn how to develop an amazing
Employee Value Proposition, promote
your brand online, and attract top talent
to your company.

48. Workopolis is
here to help
With over 16 years in the
recruitment business,
Workopolis has the expertise –
and the tools – to help you hire
and retain top talent.
To post a job, or learn about our
hiring tools, visit
hiring.workopolis.com today.
48
Visit Workopolis today

49. Copyright © 2017 Workopolis Inc. All rights reserved.
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