Martha was complaining about the performance of a new hire. After four weeks on the job, the budding new supervisor was showing signs of stress.

I asked, at what point in the hiring interview did she feel this person was the right candidate? Martha had been positive from the first few moments. “I felt an immediate chemistry with the candidate, I don’t know how I could have been so wrong.”

The biggest mistake by the hiring manager is making the decision too quickly in the recruiting process. Why is this emotional (chemistry) decision made so quickly? Two reasons.

1. The hiring manager has not created a position profile detailing the knowledge, skills and abilities for a successful hire.

2. The hiring manager has not created a list of 60 questions designed to collect data from the candidate related to the position profile.

In the vacuum created by this lack of preparation, the hiring manager has little on which to base the decision, other than chemistry. Chemistry decisions are made within a couple of minutes without the need for facts and we often make a poor choice in the process. -TF