Finding a qualified candidate to fill a position can be tough. Once you narrow down the list of applicants, it is crucial to focus on finding someone who is the right fit for your company.
For Construction Pros shares the following red flags you should look for when reviewing an application or resume.
- The candidate leaves questions or sections blank. Leaving fields blank on an application could indicate the candidate is only slightly interested in the position; may not have the answers, which means he or she may not have the skills needed for the job; or may be unwilling to share it or is trying to hide something.
- The candidate does not have the required skills or work experience. In some cases, you may be willing to train the right candidate. However, it generally is better to look for a more well-rounded prospect.
- The candidate’s availability/schedule is inflexible or limited. In the construction industry, weather, customer requests, job completion deadlines and other factors regularly can affect workflow and schedules, which sometimes means crews must work at odd hours and need to be flexible.
- The candidate’s pay expectations are too high. You can negotiate with a candidate who is a great fit, but if the gap between what he or she expects and what you can offer is too big, it will not work.
- The candidate’s length of employment at previous jobs was typically short. If a candidate has five jobs listed during a 14-month period, it is more likely that job-hopping trend will continue if he or she is hired.
- The candidate is overqualified. When the job market is tight, applicants often apply for positions for which they are overqualified. If an overqualified employee is offered a better-paying job that fits his or her qualifications, the employee is more likely to leave. You may have to ask the candidate some deeper questions to find out why he or she is applying.
- The candidate does not follow directions or pay attention to details. Include a few sections in your application that require the applicant to read and follow directions—it could be as simple as signing and dating a paragraph. Missing such instructions can say a lot about an applicant’s attention to detail.
- Past employers will only say the candidate is “not eligible for rehire.” Employers sometimes are afraid of being sued if they tell the truth about an ex-employee when being contacted by that individual’s potential new employer. If you reach out to a candidate’s past employers and they say the individual is “not eligible for rehire,” they are saying they would not hire that person again and you should not hire them either.
