Controversies in recruitment: 5 mistakes HR professionals make.

In recent days, social media has been flooded with controversies involving HR professionals and the way recruitment processes are conducted for companies.

Controversies surrounding recruitment in recent weeks

Node last day, October 20thThe Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Sul has begun investigating a discriminatory audio recording of a pharmacy employee in the region, in which she told other employees to be careful when selecting overweight, tattooed, or LGBTQIA+ individuals.

The problem is that, for some reason, this audio was leaked and went viral on all social media platforms, with people outraged by the situation.

Another case, that It happened on October 16th.This refers to a woman who sent her resume via WhatsApp to a company and was mistreated because of grammatical errors.

On that occasion, the store employee corrected the errors in a mocking manner and suggested that the person who sent the message take a course before looking for a job.

Two embarrassing situations, right?

The problem is that these events have brought to light the fact that many Human Resources professionals have become stagnant and haven't evolved as much as they should have.

The world has changed, and the expectation for this field is that people will be accepted as they are, in their diversity.

Prejudice, discrimination, and mistreatment of those who are different are outdated – because one day it was considered normal – and those who don't adhere to this need to study and learn how to deal with all people.

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt discriminated against during a job interview?

In the lines below, you may identify some things that are in common with everyday situations.

5 mistakes HR professionals make

Not understanding that the world has changed.

As we mentioned in the previous paragraphs, the world has changed and, consequently, the human resources department should have changed as well and started accepting differences.

For a long time, people have been judged by their appearance, and this paradigm shift has been happening with increasing force in all areas of society.

To ignore this is to ignore the representation that exists in the world, a representation that brands need to have every day.

There are many stories in the media of people who were questioned during recruitment processes because of their curly hair, tattoos, and even skin tone.

That doesn't exist anymore – and it never should have.

A company's Human Resources department needs to pay attention to the most precious asset in its field: human beings.

Demanding knowledge that is unnecessary for the job.

Another common issue, and one that is still undergoing a process of breaking down taboos, is the requirement for knowledge that will never be used in the role.

Some examples include: a high level of English proficiency; skills that could be easily learned; prior experience in internship or junior positions.

These are just a few examples of the absurd things that go into the recruitment and selection processes of some companies. Unfortunately, many HR professionals still make these kinds of demands.

Clearly, establishing the necessary skills for a given role should be a collaborative effort between the HR professional and the company's management, along with the relevant departments.

So, everyone has a share of responsibility in establishing the ideal context for that hiring. In short: everyone needs to review their concepts and the new reality of the market.

Treating the person concerned as if they had no choice.

There are still companies and HR professionals who treat candidates as inferior.

How is this treatment established?

The tone of the messages, the approach, the answers given, always positioning the company as a superior entity and the candidate as inferior.

There was a time when it was common to be like that. A professionally satisfied person was someone who was "on file" at a company, answering to a boss, without much authority or much of a say.

Today, with so many types of jobs available, and with the increased possibility of being self-employed, for example, many people no longer see the need to work within a company.

And the opposite is also true: many people who prefer to work within companies specialize in order to become thinking beings in their chosen workplace, and not just operational employees.

And when it comes to operational staff, they are also essential parts of the machinery of a solid company.

In other words, reducing the number of people involved in the selection process is a major mistake for HR professionals.

Ideally, everyone should be treated as someone important to the role they may play in the company, and no less.

To belittle someone for lacking certain knowledge.

Following the line of reasoning from the previous topic, treating a person differently simply because they lack certain knowledge is also a common mistake made by bad HR professionals.

As stated above, this cannot be a reason for someone to be mistreated.

The HR professional's role is to select candidates, and when properly trained, they understand the essential steps for each role, as well as friendly ways to explain when a person hasn't progressed to the next stage.

And then there's another point to consider: excessive amounts of phases, unnecessarily.

Not giving feedback

Leaving a candidate waiting for an answer is not at all kind and leaves a bad impression of the company. HR professionals need to be aware of this and be prepared to respond to everyone even during the selection planning phase.

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