Securing the correct talent is the bedrock of any business. As roles are becoming increasingly specialised and companies under more pressure than ever to recruit to deliver immediate result, hiring managers shall need to ensure they give themselves the best possible chance to secure the right talents.

Below are the five points that could make or break any hire, yet are often overlooked during the recruitment process:

1. Punctuality
   Being on time for a job interview is one of the very first opportunity to set the right impression. Yetalarmingly many hiring managers would not be afraid of leaving a nervous candidate stewing in the lobby while they finish off a few more emails. Nothing screams “your time isn’t valuable” quite like keeping someone waiting. Aside from a serious crisis (which should be communicated as quickly as possible), interviews should start on-time, every time.

2. Focus
   Treat people the way you’d like to be treated. How would you feel if applicants start to check text messages or answer “urgent” calls half way through the interview. Don’t forget applicants are interviewing your company as much as you are interviewing them and such a lack of consideration may give the wrong impression about your working culture.

3. Lack of Preparation
   It’s really boring to always open with “Tell me about yourself” and use this time to skim through the CV.  This is the equivalent to an applicant showing up for an interview without carrying out any research on the target business. Candidates want to understand the uniqueness of your company and the reason they should join versus other competitors and the quality of your questions shall set this standard.

4. Looking for perfection
   As with any business transactions what you get is likely to be correlated to what you are offering. Please take sometime and consider: 1) Is your firm the number one in the industry 2) Are you paying the best remuneration 3). If the answersare “no” and you somehow manage to secure the perfect person then how likely he/she shall stick around realistically?
   Recruitment is not about finding the best talent. It’s pairing up most suitable talent availableto each requirement.

5. Being too formal and lacking enthusiasm
   Looking beyond obvious parameters such as salary, applicant want to join firms they enjoy turning up at each morning and a key element of that would be the type of personalities he/she work with on a daily basis.
   Hiring and firing is a serious business, and the job interview is no place to try out your new stand-up routine. But it should also not be a criminal trial. A smile or a little gentle humour (work appropriate, of course) breaks the ice, and sets the tone for the workplace – an extra-important consideration when it’s the candidate’s first time in the office.