Recruiting in China

Hiring in China is still the number one issue and solutions are thin on the ground. Research by Deutsch and Remillard, who wrote the book on hiring, found that there are 10 common mistakes that companies should avoid if they hope to achieve success in hiring. This is a complement to our Top 10 Don’ts.

Job Descriptions. Interviewers tended to focus on experience and skills rather than the company’s expectations for the position. This is a strong mismatch which can be solved by taking it a step further. Check out Peformance Profiles.
Superficial Interviews. There was little in the way of checking or verifying of candidate’s experience and education.
Over-emphasis on Resume. Interviewers focused too much on details in the Resume such as education, technical skills, and industry experience.
Initial Impact. Interviewers relied heavily on first impressions to make their hiring decisions.
Historical Bias. Hiring teams used only past performance to predict future results. This was thought be insufficient.
Performance bias. Candidates who ‘performed’ at interview tended to be chosen over real job performers.
Active Candidates Companies tended to bottom feed and only attracted the active job seeker. Passive candidates were not succesfully targeted.
Best Predictors Interviewers tended not to focus on self-motivation, leadership, comparable past performance, job-specific problem solving and adaptability, and these have been shown to be strong predictors of performance.
Understanding Stars. Companies failed to understand the motivation of Stars and did not structure a process around their needs. It’s worth noting that in China, everyone is a star.
Shallow Approach. Companies did not budget sufficient time and resources for a successful search.