A hiring mistake can be very costly for any organization. It can consume the owner’s time, frustrate existing employees, and disrupt client service. Many problems begin before any job postings are made.  

Fortunately, firms can prevent them by making the hiring process more deliberate. Here are seven common mistakes and practical ways to avoid them.

1. Hiring before defining the actual job

“We need another planner” is not a job description. Does your firm need someone to prepare plans, manage client relationships, handle service requests, or generate new business? Those responsibilities require different strengths.

Before advertising, list the tasks this person will own during the first six months. Identify which responsibilities will transfer from existing employees. Then define three measurable outcomes, such as preparing accurate materials for the planning meeting, independently handling routine financial planning questions from clients, and presenting selected planning recommendations. 

Build the position around the work you need completed and any pain points you need to solve.

2. Requiring experience you do not actually need

Many firms think that candidates with experience are the only way to go. Sometimes the requested experience level does not match the role. For instance, one firm we worked with was seeking five years of experience, for a position that primarily involves meeting preparation, client service administration tasks, and planning support activities… which most good planners with five years of experience will feel they’ve already outgrown. 

These misaligned expectations and requirements can shrink the candidate pool, reduce candidate quality (because good planning associates will have already moved past the role) and increase compensation expectations (as experienced candidates expect higher compensation)... all without improving (or even outright reducing) the likelihood of a successful hire. 

Separate requirements into two categories: necessary on arrival, and teachable after arrival. A candidate may need strong writing skills and careful attention to detail immediately. Your CRM procedures and how to navigate your preferred planning software may be teachable. Ask whether each requirement predicts success in this particular role. 

3. Interviewing without a consistent evaluation process

The people in your firm (typically the firm owners) have an enjoyable conversation with someone, and they want to hire them based on the impression that the person will be an excellent employee. However, being personable does not demonstrate sound judgment, reliable follow-through, or planning competence.

Ask every candidate the same core questions. Request specific examples: “Tell me about a mistake you caught before a client meeting,” or “Describe how you handled competing deadlines.” Use a simple scorecard covering technical ability, communication, organization, and response to feedback. 

Have interviewers score candidates independently, before discussing the results. This keeps the loudest opinion from becoming the hiring decision, as everyone sets their own scores and views before comparing notes, and then can discuss the differences they see to help hone in on the right choice.

4. Skipping a realistic work sample

A résumé describes past responsibilities, and is often framed in a ‘most optimal’ light (i.e., optimistic or sometimes outright embellished). A work sample demonstrates how a candidate will actually handle tasks your firm needs performed.

Give finalists a short, fictional client scenario. Ask them to identify missing information, outline planning priorities, and draft a sample client email. For an operations position, ask them to prioritize several service requests, and explain their reasoning. 

Keep the exercise proportionate to the role and avoid using actual client work (fictional or anonymized client scenarios are sufficient to understand how they work). Evaluate accuracy, clarity, and judgment. 

Discuss their answers afterward to understand how they think and respond to questions. This also helps to clarify which work samples were genuinely created by the candidate, and which were AI-generated from a candidate that still doesn’t really understand the job and what it takes.

5. Overselling the opportunity

Promising rapid advancement, flexible hours, or future ownership may help attract a candidate, but vague promises (especially ones firms have won’t realistically be able to follow through with anytime soon) create problems later. A new planner who expects immediate client responsibility may feel misled when assigned months of administrative work.

Explain what a typical week looks like, including less appealing responsibilities. Describe how advancement decisions are made and who provides training. If ownership is only a possibility, say so. Put compensation, work arrangements, and agreed expectations in writing. 

Candidates should accept the position with a clear understanding of both its opportunities and its demands. If they don’t like what the job will really entail, better to clarify that upfront and have them not take the job, than to accept the position and then leave a month or two later, putting the firm back to the starting point on hiring again.

6. Letting the process drag

Hiring often gets squeezed between client meetings and urgent projects. Candidates complete an interview, then hear nothing while the owner tries to coordinate the next step.

Before launching the search, reserve interview time, set a deadline to complete the process, and decide who has hiring authority. Explain the stages to candidates and provide an expected timeline. After each interview, communicate the next step promptly. If a decision is delayed, send an update with a revised date. 

You do not need to rush your evaluation, but you do need to manage the process. If hiring is not a top priority, assign the task to someone else to keep the momentum going. Good candidates only stay available so long for an opportunity before they get another job offer they’ll accept from another employer. 

7. Treating onboarding as an afterthought

A signed offer does not mean the hiring work is finished. Without clear training and expectations, even a capable employee can struggle.

Prepare a 30-, 60-, and 90-day plan before the start date. Assign a training owner, schedule regular check-ins, and identify the tasks the employee should gradually perform independently. Explain what good work looks like using examples. Ask where instructions are unclear and address mistakes early. 

Hiring succeeds when the firm gives the employee a practical path to becoming productive.

We hope these were helpful in navigating your next hire. 

Happy Halloween!

Contact us at info@newplannerrecruiting.com if you have any questions or don't hire very often and would like us to help with your next financial planner hire.  

 

Caleb and the New Planner Recruiting Team*

*AI-assisted