Why are companies so reluctant to keep interviewing new candidates when someone is already in the third or fourth round of interviews?

Too often, companies bank on one applicant who is already in process to fill the job.  It’s one of the biggest mistakes that organizations make during the hiring process.  The job market is highly competitive. Talent is finite.  HR, talent acquisition, and hiring managers understand the current hiring climate, yet it is baffling that so many organizations stop interviewing additional candidates when they have their eye on a particular person.

Candidates interview for multiple jobs and working with more than one staffing agency. In our experience, once a candidate is a yes at one organization, they are immediately more attractive to other employers.  Assuming that your job is the only job that they are entertaining is a huge gamble.

Everyone believes that they work for the best company in the world!  Their job is the best job- the best pay, the best career opportunities, the best benefits. It would be unfathomable for a candidate to reject such a position.  Yet, they do.  Hiring managers should continue to champion their job and their company. They should have the mindset that their job is the best, but that doesn’t mean that they should stop interviewing candidates until the position is filled.

Interviewing candidates is time consuming. It is logical to try and save time and avoid pulling staff off of projects to interview perspective employees. It makes sense in the moment. But it is a mistake to stop new interviews.

First-round candidates should be starting the interview process even while other candidates are in third-round stages and beyond. This provides a necessary cushion in case a candidates is rejected, turns down your offer, fails a background check, accepts a counter offer, has a family emergency, etc.  A wise staffing mentor once said, “the easy closes scare me the most.”

Push your staffing partner for new candidates throughout the process. It is easy for everyone to get complacent about proactive interviewing when there is someone deep in the hiring process. It is important that there is open communication and direct dialogue at every at every stage of the process. Communication is the key to for your staffing partner to efficiently deliver results to you.

Hiring new talent can be summed up in one great Yogism, “It ain’t over, till it’s over.”