You hire a promising candidate, but within a month, you are cringing at your decision. What went wrong? Hiring mistakes are costly and frustrating, yet even the most seasoned managers make them. Build a better team by identifying which of these hiring mistakes you might be making and how to fix them.

Too Many or Too Few Criteria

You have an idea of what the position requires, but do you know the specifics? Before you interview for a position, create an outline of the exact skills, experience, knowledge and personality traits you seek. At the same time, having too many criteria will kill your focus. Stick with six to eight critical points.

Hiring for Skills or Personality Alone

A candidate can have ideal skills but a personality that clashes with your company mission, or they can sweep you off your feet with their personality yet lack critical experience. Balance experience and behavior-based interviewing techniques, and resist hiring anybody that fits your company in only one of the two ways.

Not Asking Follow-up Questions

“I’m a very fast learner,” the candidate says. Should you take them at their word and move on? An interview is a fact-finding mission. You need proof that your candidate’s assertions are true. Always ask specific experience-, behavior- or job-based follow-up questions.

Not Identifying Previous Mistakes

Why have your previous hires failed? Most managers can list the reasons easily, but few will have incorporated those points into the hiring process. For example, if you have a job that looks solitary on paper but requires frequent contact with vendors, make sure that you ask about communication skills.

Not Having an Entrance Strategy

Many otherwise perfect hires will fail if they do not get thorough training and oversight when they start. If you do not have a good training plan, the resources to scrutinize their initial performance or a solid structure of expectations, you might as well not be hiring.

Small shifts in hiring practices can eliminate many mistakes. With these changes, you will open the door to building a stronger team and better company.