The U.S. Dept of Labor Office of Labor-Hiring mistakes fall in two categories, says business consultant and writer Lou Adler. Either hiring people you shouldn’t have or not hiring people you should have. He recommends avoiding or eliminating hiring mistakes by developing a broader definition of competency and not being affected by a candidate’s interviewing presentation.

“Don’t assume that a well-prepared, enthusiastic candidate with a great first impression is a top performer,” he says. “Conversely, don’t assume a nervous or soft-spoken candidate, or one who is unprepared, or one who doesn’t ‘look the part’ is an underperformer.” See the rest of his article in Kennedy Information’s Recruiting Trends.