12 Warnings Signs Of A Bad Hire

Are you getting frustrated with your new hire?

After taking the time to sift through dozens or even hundreds of resumes and interviewing several potential hires, you might have felt some relief that you finally found someone perfect for the job.

Now, though, you are having second thoughts. It seems like you made a mistake; the new hire is uninterested, disengaged, or seems to lack the skills required to perform well.

But did you really make a bad hire, or does the new employee just need some time to adjust?

In this article, I will be sharing certain signs that you have made a bad hire. The first step is acknowledging that you made a bad hire. Without it, you will be stuck with an unproductive employee who can negatively impact company morale, lower productivity, and hurt your bottom line.

Let’s discuss more.

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Warnings Signs Of A Bad Hire

1. Doesn’t Take Initiative

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A new hire should take the initiative by asking questions about things they don’t understand and trying to learn from others. You should definitely give new employees time to adjust, especially if they are entry-level hires and your company is large.

New employees can get overwhelmed the first couple of weeks.

However, if your employee doesn’t seem to take any initiative to do anything apart from giving half-hearted attempts at doing what they are explicitly instructed, you might want to take a second look at the person you just hired.

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2. Doesn’t Listen to Feedback

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New employees should be open to learning. They should be accepting of feedback given by managers.

After all, nobody’s perfect, and nobody comes into a job knowing everything they need to know. Every new hire will go through a learning curve as they get accustomed to the job responsibilities and unique expectations of the company.

However, if your new employee doesn’t respond to feedback, it’s a red flag. They should internalize your feedback and use it to fix their errors.

An employee who refuses to listen to or ignores feedback either doesn’t care or is too arrogant, thinking they know better than their higher-ups.

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3. Has a Negative Attitude

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A negative attitude can manifest in several ways. A new hire who is always in a sour and bad mood will lower everyone’s morale and affect the workplace environment.

Someone who gets upset when they are asked to do something is also not good for your company. New employees should be excited about this new opportunity that has presented itself to them and enthusiastically embrace their new responsibilities.

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4. Lacks Skills

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Have you ever felt that you were fooled by a candidate during their interview? It does happen, as some candidates lie on their resumes and misrepresent their qualifications.

For example, if you hire someone for a junior developer role, and they have a number of projects on their resume, can you be sure the projects were created by them? It’s always possible they hired someone to make those projects for them.

If you realize that the person you thought was qualified for the job is actually lacking the necessary skills, you might have to let them go. It might not be possible to train them, as that may require a significant investment in terms of time and money.

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5. Is Unable to Cope With the Responsibilities

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It’s normal for a new hire to be a bit stressed and overwhelmed at the beginning, especially if it’s an entry-level role.

On the other hand, some people just aren’t capable of handling their responsibilities, and it won’t get any better.

If your new hire seems to be breaking under the pressure and is simply not capable of thriving in the workplace, it’s time to figure out your next steps.

Assigning a mentor who can help them stay organized and manage their time is one option, but if they’re beyond help, you may have to look into alternative candidates to replace them.

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6. Is Unreliable

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You need a worker who you can rely on to get things done. If your new hire is consistently missing deadlines or doesn’t fulfill their responsibilities, that might not be something you can fix.

If you’ve already given them a warning, and they have not improved, you might need to fire them. Otherwise, they will drag everyone else down with them.

Another sign of an unreliable employee is one that always comes late. Emergencies and mistakes do happen; it’s not unusual for someone to come late once in a while.

However, someone who is consistently late is difficult to rely on. That’s especially true if it’s a new hire, who should be doing all they can to make a good first impression.

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7. Is Unwilling to Integrate

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It takes time for someone to acclimate to their new company’s culture. However, they should at least be striving to integrate and form meaningful relationships with their coworkers.

Someone who is unwilling to integrate into your company is not a team player. It will be hard to get tasks done if those tasks require team effort.

Such a person will always try to do things their way, just because they think they know better.

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8. Poor Work Quality

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Being a perfectionist is not a must for most jobs. However, your workers should at least be giving it their best.

Someone who is lazy and consistently produces shoddy work will reflect poorly on the company. It indicates that they aren’t really concerned about their job and just want to get by with the minimum effort.

That’s not a quality you want in a new hire. Some people may pretend to be passionate about the industry in their interviews, but once they actually get hired, their true colors come out.

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9. Has Poor Communication Skills

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Someone with poor communication or social skills isn’t always someone you must discard immediately. You can often help them work on their communication skills.

They might not even realize they have communication issues. Pointing it out might be enough to help them realize the problem they are facing and take steps to fix it.

Poor communication skills will slow your entire production down. It will lead to misunderstandings between team members, thus resulting in flaws in your final product or delays in meeting deadlines.

If your new hire has poor communication skills, try teaching them how to communicate better. The same goes for social skills – you might even recommend self-help books that can assist them with improving their social skills.

But again, if the new hire simply doesn’t care and doesn’t seem to be willing to improve, there’s not much you can do about that.

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10. Creates Conflicts or Tension in the Workplace

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This red flag is not a skills issue but a personality issue. Not everyone is a people’s person, but someone who actively creates conflicts and raises tensions in the workplace is not someone you want around.

Some people are just difficult to get along with. They insult others, are rude, think they are better than everyone else, and don’t listen or respond to constructive criticism.

They might think they can boss others around or shun co-workers because they think they should be their superiors.

It’s not always easy to tell if a new hire doesn’t get along with your team. However, if more than one person raised a complaint to HR about your new hire, it’s time to take a deeper look and start investigating things.

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11. Has an Arrogant Attitude

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You can’t fix someone with an ego that is too big for their own good. Having self-esteem is healthy and good, but we’re referring to an overinflated ego and sense of self-worth.

It is impossible to mold someone like that, and it is also nearly impossible to train them. Someone with a big ego might take steps you didn’t even ask them to, which could end up backfiring due to their lack of experience in the matter.

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12. Relies on Others, Blames Others

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People should be able to take responsibility for their own duties and mistakes.

Asking for help is a good thing. It demonstrates that the new hire is humble and willing to learn from superiors.

However, if the new hire tries to pass along their own work to others or get others to take care of their responsibilities, that is a red flag.

Similarly, the new hire should be able to own up to their mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes; it’s part of the learning process.

However, if the new hire is always blaming someone else for mistakes they make, it shows they are unwilling to be honest with themselves. It’s hard to give such a person feedback, because they will always find a way to make it someone else’s fault.

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What Should You Do If You Make a Bad Hire?

Once you’ve detected a bad hire using one or more of the red flags above, the big question is whether you should try to rehabilitate them or terminate their employment.

First of all, though, it’s important to reiterate that not all of these red flags are a hard rule, and many of them particularly don’t apply to new hires during their first 1–3 weeks.

For example, it’s normal for a new hire to be stressed or have a hard time trying to integrate with the company culture. It’s also possible that they are introverts and need some time to make connections, thus making it seem as if they are not getting along with coworkers when, in fact, it’s just social anxiety.

So, be patient with your new hires. Give them time!

However, even while being patient, you should be looking for signs that your new employee is at least trying to improve.

Perhaps they are feeling stressed but are looking for ways to manage their time and be more productive. Perhaps they are shy but are making an effort to slowly reach out and build relationships with coworkers.

If the initial few weeks have passed and things are not improving, the next step is determining what kind of problem you have.

If the person is arrogant, hard to deal with, and just can’t seem to get along with anybody, there’s no real cure for this. That is a personality issue, and they need to look internally and work on self-improvement to be a better teammate.

If they are just coming late, a simple warning might be enough. You can then move on to the next step and fire them if they don’t heed your warnings.

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In some cases, though, it might be worth investing a little in your new employees, especially if they are entry-level workers or fresh grads. If you think their skills are not up to par, ask yourself if they truly lied about their qualifications or perhaps are just lacking a few key skills.

For example, let’s say you hired a new developer, and they don’t seem proficient in the framework or programming language you are using. It doesn’t mean they’re a bad developer or programmer.

They may be extremely proficient in other frameworks or languages, and these skills could easily translate to a new framework or language.

Perhaps they just need a bit of on-site training, or perhaps they simply need to take an online course and practice a bit before they become proficient.

If you give them some time, they might turn into one of your best hires!

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How to Avoid a Bad Hire?

There’s no foolproof way to avoid a bad hire, but there are certainly ways to minimize the chances of it happening.

Don’t rely solely on interviews. Some people have awesome social skills and can dazzle you during an interview, but have no technical skills whatsoever. The opposite is common as well.

That’s why many companies have turned to technical assessments to get a better grasp of what potential candidates are capable of. That could be a short on-site simulation, a take-home test, or another type of assessment.

Also, verify all information on someone’s resume before hiring them! Perform background checks and look for discrepancies and red flags, such as a long period of unemployment in between jobs.

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Conclusion

Avoiding a bad hire isn’t always possible, and sometimes, you can make the most of it by rehabilitating them.

At other times, though, you need to cut the cord and let them loose, for the good of your company.

Regardless of which option you choose, use it as a learning opportunity. Take note of the red flags you missed, and watch out for them in future candidates you interview.