by David R. Michaels

Created on: October 30, 2008

If you've ever been in a position to hire new employees either at the Human Resources level or as a Manager, no doubt you have had numerous regrets as to certain personnel you've hired in the past as well as the good ones that got away. Don't beat up on yourself too badly - this is something that all of us have done at one time or another.

The following content is a list of the 7 biggest mistakes that human resources and management are the most guilty of. Use these tips to help you avoid making the same mistakes again.

Mistake #1 - Being vague about the employee's job description and their role in the company - this is especially true when it comes to sales positions. Since sales roles always differ from one company to the next, it is imperative that you explain the job description and the responsibilities that come with it. Trying to hire sales people without affording them a clear and concise description of the job is like the director of a movie conducting auditions without knowing what the film is about.

Granted, this mistake sounds almost trivial, and common sense dictates that you be as thorough as possible when explaining the responsibilities of the position. However, you would be amazed at the amount of human resource and management personnel who continually commit this foul during the interviewing and hiring processes.

Mistake #2 - Beware of the double-edged sword - PERSONALITY TRAITS! A lot of personnel responsible for the hiring process of companies oftentimes overlook the fact that where personalities are concerned, the strengths and weaknesses involved are a double-edged sword. When individuals are interviewing candidates for a sales position, their description of the ideal candidate's attributes are usually unrealistic and the qualities they are seeking in that individual just don't exist in any single person.

You need to be conscious of conflicting criteria or issues as well as all the positive traits. In other words, try to think about the "flip side" of the trait. This enables you to understand the "down-side" of that trait. Managers have the tendency to make a shopping list of desirable traits that they want that candidate to have. And just like with your grocery list, this shopping list continues to grow to the point of being totally unrealistic.

Mistake #3 - Confusing the candidates "sociability" with "assertiveness" - what we perceive as an assertive person oftentimes results due to how outgoing and sociable the candidate is. It's true that an

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