How To Identify Toxic Candidates In Interviews

Candidate searching is a big task—involving a lot of effort on the part of recruiters. Rounds of interviews, verification, and documentation ultimately finalize the candidate to be hired. 

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However, what if you find out that the candidate you hired for weeks turns out to be the wrong one?

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The pain is real—for all the candidates that you hire turn out to be the wrong ones. Recognizing toxic candidates after they’re hired on the team can get you nowhere. Rather than sweating on your wrong decision—and making it unbearable for the existing team members—it’s best to know how to recover from the dreadful situation. 

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Typically, a candidate hire means quite a big investment of the budget—from the beginning of the hiring process to ultimately hiring the candidate. 

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So, what to do when you’ve already hired someone toxic? How do you identify the red flags of such candidates? 

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Here’s how recruiters can weed out toxic candidates after hire—

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1. Put more focus on the talent

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Experience counts—how much can you agree with this now? Yes, for many roles we can say that experience may be the most important criterion. However, in the new times, companies look for talent and potentially more than their experience. 

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Emotional intelligence and adaptability are considered ideal attributes in a candidate that makes them wanted in today’s market. Also, technical skills are highly appreciated. Hiring somebody who will grow with the role.

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2. Focusing on behavioral aspects

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Ask candidates questions that would make them think of practical solutions. Without asking the typical questions, go for questions that test their behavior. The more thought-provoking the questions are, the better you’ll be able to assess their personality. 

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Questions like—What can be a stressful situation for you at work and how do you handle it?

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3. Make good use of references

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References provide good information so that you make an informed decision in hiring candidates. Delve into the candidate’s soft skills—to know how much they are equipped to communicate with the other team members. 

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Even if you don’t find out much from the former managers, try to understand them while in the interview. 

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4. Include everyone in the hiring process

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It’s important for the candidate to feel comfortable in the work culture you’re providing. Similarly, you and your team should be able to interact with the candidate easily. For that, as a recruiter, you must involve the candidate to get absorbed in the culture of the company. 

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Provide them with virtual tours of the office, introduce them to the teams, and let them know what you’re expecting out of them!

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Including such hiring practices would give you a much better approach to hiring candidates who wouldn’t later turn out toxic!

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