When you are under pressure to fill a position, you might be tempted to hire any decent looking candidate… Don’t! Replacing quality for speed is never a good idea when making an important hiring decision. There are many resources out there for skills and qualities to look for in a candidate, but what red flags should you be looking for? Red flags are aspects or characteristics about a candidate that could mean a candidate isn’t a good fit for your company. Read on to find the 5 red flags you should keep an eye out for when interviewing a candidate.

A candidate that shows a history of excessive job-hopping raises the question of their commitment level. It’s never a good sign when a candidate has been at 3 companies in the last year. Job-hopping could be a result of lack of commitment, poor work ethic, or any number of things that can cause a candidate to frequently leave jobs. Of course, there are exceptions to this especially with events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Signs of job hopping could mean that if you hire them, they could be gone within months.

It’s easy to claim experience and write down an attractive work history, but can the candidate back it up? When you push for further details about a candidate’s work history, listen carefully to their response. If they are claiming they are expects in a certain technical skill, dig a little deeper and ask them to explain. You could also invite another member of your team that is experienced in that field to ask the right questions to vet out the candidate’s proficiency.

Failure to provide references is a big no-no. When a candidate has no reference to provide, it begs the question: What are they hiding? Every good candidate has at least one reference from a former colleague or manager that they can rely on. If you ask a candidate for a reference and they can’t come up with one, it’s probably better to go your separate ways.

It’s true, not everyone gets along with their employers and some candidates may leave a company under difficult circumstances. That being said, it’s not a good sign when a candidate goes on about how bad their past employers were. Look for candidates that are respectful of their past employers, even if they did not get along.

It’s not expected that a candidate knows all the ins and outs of your company, the exact year the company was founded, or know every core value off the top of their head. However, a lack of any understanding of your business and part you play in your industry shows a lack of effort and care from the candidate.

It’s important to understand that just because a candidate has a red flag, it doesn’t always mean that they won’t be a good fit. It is something important to look out for though. Depending on your own personal experience, there may be other potential red flags to consider. If you need extra support in your hiring efforts or expertise on how to properly vet candidates, reach out by clicking the button below.