Linda Descano, CFA, President and CEO, Women & Co., and Managing Director and Head of Content and Social, North America Marketing at Citi shares advice from hiring managers on finding the best employees.

1. Hiring Mistakes
Top managers reveal the one hiring mistake they've learned to avoid.

2. Taking a gamble on a
candidate with lack of relevant
experience. Unless it is an entry level
role, this is a risk. My experience
shows it translates into longer learning
curves and more pressure on team
mates that need to pick up the
incremental work.
Martha Tschantz,
Head of 360 Marketing
Strategy, Citi

3. One mistake people make is
taking a job because they really like the
person they’ll be working for.
Unfortunately, managers change, and as
such, its important to better understand
the culture of the organization you’ll be
joining. Before accepting an offer, ask to
meet with some of the people you’ll be
working with and or key stakeholders.
That will give you a better understanding
of the broader ecosystem you’ll become
a part of.
Ana Duarte McCarthy,
Chief Diversity Officer,
Citi

4. Moving too quickly. It can be
tempting when short a person to jump
at the first candidate who seems like
they might work. But the cost of a
mismatch is so high that you should
assess a wide variety of candidates
and see who can really contribute to
the team and organization today and
in the future, and also who is a good
cultural fit for your team.
Geoffrey Sanders,
SVP, Digital
Marketing, Citi

5. Planning for the hire is most important.
First, it's about doing the hard work of defining the
role. It takes great discipline, but it's best to
describe therole in writing. Second, share the role with
hand-selectedpeople whose judgment you trust
and who can imagine the role and its
dependencies on other roles in the company. Discuss
the job description with them and leverage their point of
view in completing a full picture of the role and the skills
and talents required for success. Next, involve these
selected people in the process and be willing to ask
questions and listen objectively. You may often become
attached to the notion of hiring a candidate but then
discover that others do not see the candidate in the
same way. Ask questions and listen. In the end, it is
always an uncertain decision. Know that, but do your
best to separate the emotion from the facts and points
of view of others.
Jim Schinella,
CEO, Manilla

6. I would say the one mistake I
see is managers choosing someone
simply because they clicked in the
interview and ignoring other important
facts like whether the person truly has
the qualifications for the role. Being a
great conversationalist and fitting in
with the rest of the team is important,
but you want to make sure the
individual has the skills and knowledge
that match the position.
Anna Mitchell,
Relationship Manager,
HR Professional
Services

7. Hire for the future - yours and
theirs - and not for the present. We all
have short-term pressures and tasks
that need to be completed but hire
someone who you can easily see
making solid contributions to your
organization years down the line. Unless
the position requires a very specialized
expertise, a hire should be capable of
contributing to the org in many different
ways including taking over for you at
some point. And, just to be clear, that
does not mean that you hire with a
sameness; always hire a person as part
of a team who compliments others' skills
while ideally bringing something new to
the table.
Mary Gail Pezzimenti,
Content Strategist,
Federated Media

8. A mistake I made early in my
career was hiring candidates who had the
same skills that I had. I have seen and have
fallen into the trap of selecting candidates
who have the same training, background
and expertise. A homogeneous organization
is not good for business. As I’ve hired more
candidates with diverse skills that are
different from my own, I’ve learned that the
variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and
skills are invaluable for problem solving. I
love being challenged by different
perspectives and my colleagues and team
push me to think beyond my comfort zone. I
value such different approaches greatly.
Alexandra Tyler,
Vice President, Head of
Digital Marketing &
Sales Development,
TIAA-CREF

9. There’s a temptation to pick
the candidate who is most like
you - someone who matches your
style, personality or disposition. But I
think it’s a mistake to fill your
organization with people who are all
the same. Of course, you want each
new hire to fit into your culture, but try to
choose people with different
backgrounds, interests and
personalities. The best candidate is
someone who complements and brings
something new to the existing team.
Your organization will be richer for it.
Liz Kaplow,
Owner, Kaplow

10. The biggest mistake I see
happen in hiring is when there is
not a good fit between the candidate's
values and passions and the culture of
the organization. In a tough job
environment what ends up happening
is that employees don't quit when this
happens, but they do disengage. This
leads to significant loss in productivity,
creativity and well-being.
Henna Inam,
Executive Coach,
Speaker and Consultant
with focus on Women's
Leadership

11. One mistake I see is hiring
people that are too much
like ourselves. One of the best
pieces of advice I’ve been given is to
hire people who think differently than I
do, and push me out of my comfort
zone. It can lead to somewhat tense
discussions at times, but I’ve found
that it helps ensure we are taking a
broader view, limits our blind spots,
and often leads us to better outcomes.
Diane Thomas,
Managing Director,
Head of Decision
Mgnt and Insights;
Chief Marketing
Office, Citi

12. It’s human nature to gravitate
towards people who are very much
like us and hiring falls victim to that,
too. However, there is tremendous
value in diversity of experiences and
backgrounds. Of course, candidates
must be qualified for the role (which
you can assess through behavioral
and situational questions) but when
deciding between numerous qualified
candidates look for an individual who
complements other team members
and has diverse experiences.
Leigh Jacobson,
Director of Digital
Marketing, Citi

13. Poor expectation setting during
the hiring process. Strong recruiting is a
two-way process. Hiring managers need
to articulate everything that the role
entails not just focus on the glamorous
aspects. Additionally, new hire
candidates need to be upfront about
what they bring to the table and what
they expect from the job in return.
Hiring, training and development require
a ton of time and resources, so setting
clear expectations upfront will help
ensure a great fit but also a worthwhile
investment for both parties.
Rebecca Foy,
Business Lead,
Facebook

14. Many applicants respond to
interview questions with a
theoretical response rather than
one based on their own behavior in a
situation. Most interviewers accept
these theoretical answers because the
applicant looks great on paper, is
charming, or generally persuasive in
other ways. Continue to push for the
behavior-based answer. If they can’t
give one, they may not have the
experience to do the job.
Jenni Luke,
CEO, Step Up
Women's Network

15. Join the conversation!
Connect: Professional Women’s Network, Powered by Citi, is an
online community on LinkedIn that helps women achieve the
careers they want and discuss the issues relevant to their success.
For more great insights from Connect members, check out
the discussion: Hiring Mistakes
Visit linkedin.com/womenconnect for more information and to join
the group for free!