Biggest hiring mistake

What's the biggest mistake that a manager who is hiring can make? Nope, it's not letting a good person get away, or even hiring someone who turns out to be the wrong choice. According to writer Jeff Haden, it's "failing to follow up with and provide closure to" the people you don't hire. This has happened to all of us, and will only start to happen more now that it's so easy to send in resumes and job applications via online services like Idealist.org.

Despite the fact that it's hard to have to turn someone down, it's the right thing to do, Haden explains.

[I]t's incredibly rude. Say you pay me a compliment and instead of saying "thank you," I just turn and walk away. You'd feel a little bit pissed and a whole lot hurt, right?

So why is it okay when a person pays your business the highest compliment of all—by saying they would like to work for you and therefore spend more time with you than they do with their family—for you to ignore them and never respond?

And second, there can be fallout. Haden provides the example of someone who, treated poorly when she applied for a job with a retailer, decided she would never shop there again. Expanded over a large number of stores, that can translate into a great deal of lost business. In the non-profit world, it may mean lost donations - people's financial circumstances change, and they may decide they don't want to give any money to the not-for-profit they never heard back from about a job they once hoped for.

So next time you decide against hiring someone, rather than letting them dangle, let them know.