Are you a technical hiring manager and having a hard time finding the right talent? Have you ever asked yourself, “Why am I not able to hire more top talent?” It can be frustrating finding the right candidates. Sometimes when you think you’ve found the right fit, they fail to work out. Other times you feel like everyone else seems to find great employees, but you somehow are not getting the best on the table.

Let’s face it: Hiring is hard, especially for remote software developer positions. You are not only looking for the right skill set, but you also look for candidates that have the right personality to get along in an environment of software developers and who can fit in your organization. Let’s check out why technical managers fail to hire top talent.

1. They Overcomplicate The Job Description

The problem with technical hiring managers is that they often overcomplicate the job description. They use fancy words that nobody understands or write about things that are not relevant to the task at hand.

This can cause problems for both the company and the candidate. For example, suppose you’re trying to hire someone for a software development position, and you have a long list of requirements for what kind of experience they need. In that case, it could turn off a lot of people from applying in the first place.

2. They Fail To Be Transparent About The Company’s Culture

A bad hire is a costly mistake for any company, but it can be especially problematic in a technical role if the candidate you hire doesn’t fit your culture. Technical employees need to be able to communicate effectively with their coworkers and customers, so hiring someone who doesn’t fit into the team can have significant repercussions for your business. Technical hiring managers often fail to realize the importance of cultural fit until it’s too late.

3. Technical Hiring Managers Don’t Identify Red Flags During The Interview

You’ve probably heard or read about the term “red flag.” It’s a warning sign that a candidate will not be a good fit for the job or company. Red flags can be anything from bad hygiene, lying on their resume, not being able to explain their past jobs and responsibilities, or even having too many questions about salary and benefits.

These are all things that technical hiring managers should be aware of when interviewing candidates.

Unfortunately, most technical hiring managers don’t know how to identify these red flags during an interview. This is why they will often hire people who have no business being on your team in the first place. For example, if someone can’t answer basic questions about your company, it may mean they aren’t interested in learning more about it, which could be problematic if you want someone who is enthusiastic about your culture and mission.

4.  Hiring Managers Are Not Skilled At Asking Behavioral Questions

Technical hiring managers are often not skilled at asking behavioral questions. They tend to jump straight into technical questions, which can be a problem.

A behavioral question asks a candidate to talk about a specific instance in their past where they have used certain skills or abilities and how they handled it. The candidates should be able to describe how they handled it and what they did differently than anyone else would have done under such circumstances. This allows you to learn more about how they handle stress and pressure and how they react under pressure which is important when performing your job duties as an IT professional.

5. They Ask The Same Interview Questions To Every Candidate

Interviewing is more than just asking standard questions like “Tell me about yourself” or “What is your greatest weakness.” These types of questions are boring and uninteresting — and they don’t provide any insight into how well someone will actually do in their role. Instead of asking these generic questions, try asking ones that help give insights into how job candidates think, solve problems and work with others.

It’s important to ask each candidate unique questions based on their experience and qualifications for the job and take note of each answer to understand their way of dealing with situations.

6. They Don’t Ask Candidates What They Are Looking For In An Ideal Opportunity

The most common mistake made by technical hiring managers is not asking candidates what they are looking for in an ideal opportunity.

The more information you can get from candidates about their ideal job, the better equipped you’ll be to match them with the best opportunities at your company.

If you fail to ask this question, then you will be left with only their past experience and qualifications as a reference point. And that’s not enough information to determine whether or not someone will be a good fit for your company.

7. They Don’t Pay Attention To Soft Skills And Values Alignment

Technical hiring managers fail at hiring top talent because they ignore soft skills and values alignment.

Yes, technical skills are important. But in today’s world, where everything is moving towards a remote work culture, soft skills are equally important and valuable the technical skills.

The thing that makes a good developer is their ability to solve problems by writing software quickly, efficiently, and elegantly. That requires an understanding of how the software works under the hood — but it also requires a lot of other things like communication skills and collaboration (both with teammates and customers), domain knowledge, cultural fit, adaptability, empathy, etc.

If you don’t pay attention to these things during the hiring process, then you could end up with an employee who doesn’t mesh well with your team culture or who has trouble communicating with the team.

8. They Don’t Know How To Sell The Company Or Position To The Candidate

Technical hiring managers are often too focused on the technical aspects of a role and not focused enough on selling the company and its culture.

The best technical hiring managers know that candidates want to feel like they will be part of something bigger than themselves. The candidate wants to know that their work will have an impact. The best technical hiring managers clearly understand this and go out of their way to sell it.

Conclusion

Yes, there are many reasons why technical hiring managers fail at hiring top talent – and it is important that technical hiring managers are aware of them!

You can dramatically improve your technical hiring success rate with these pointers in mind. Hiring top talent takes time, and working on the above pointers by micro1 will help you better manage it.