If a candidate is considering a new opportunity in construction, they may attend numerous interviews where they are likely to hear the same tired questions and statements over and over again. As a hiring manager, these clichés won’t help you learn anything of value about candidates or make them feel better about your opportunity. They may even turn them off in some away. Avoid using the same tired old questions and comments in the interview process. Here are three things that job seekers are tired of hearing in interviews that you can avoid saying in your hiring process.
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“What Is Your Greatest Weakness?”
Many of us are puzzled that this question makes it into so many interviews. It’s the last thing job seekers want to answer, and so they have learned to turn it into a positive. Hiring managers want candidates to be honest about their shortcomings, but candidates aren’t always comfortable opening up about their weaknesses right away, so they try to spin their shortcomings into strengths. This means that the answers are usually insincere and inauthentic. Plus, everybody has skills they aren’t good at and likely never will be. Focusing on strengths is more productive.
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“We Have a lot of Steps in Our Process Because We Want to Hire Exactly the Right Person.”
This statement is supposed to help candidates understand that the hiring process is long because you care about quality. However, all the candidate hears is you making excuses for having an inefficient, drawn out hiring process. The reality is most hiring processes involve many unnecessary steps that can drive away talented candidates and prevent you from finding employees you need. You also risk losing out to other companies that have better, faster hiring methods. With the current labor shortage in the construction industry, you need your process to be as efficient as possible.
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“We’ll Get Back to You. We Have a lot of Candidates to Interview.”
Candidates want to know what to expect. They also want to know the timeframe in which you’ll fill the position. Simply saying “We’ll get back to you” sounds like you’re giving the candidate the runaround. The candidate will think you’re holding your cards close and not being transparent about the process. If you aren’t specific enough, the candidate might think you aren’t interested and move on to other opportunities. Give as much detail about the process as you can so the candidate knows what to expect. This way you can build trust with potential employees.
With the current talent shortage in the industry, you need to make the best impression on candidates as you can. Cliché questions and explanations aren’t going to cut it. These three questions and follow-ups are especially important to avoid because they’re so overused. They’ll create a negative atmosphere and make the candidates doubt your efficiency and trustworthiness.
How can we help you?
Searching for an opportunity in the construction industry? Contact The Birmingham Group today to discuss your career path or browse our open positions.
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