Interview Gaffes Guaranteed To Prevent Job Offers
Sometimes job candidates do the stupidest things during job interviews. Several years ago I begged a hiring manager to give an MD a second shot at a face-to-face job interview after he botched the first one. The hiring manager reluctantly agreed to give my candidate a second chance to redeem his poor performance during the first interview. After the interview, the hiring manager told me that he wasn’t going to extend a job offer to my candidate because he was “on call” the day of the interview and he kept on excusing himself to answer his pager. This happened almost 12 years ago before the cell phone–texting explosion became annoying pervasive.
Imagine my surprise when I learned that results from a recent CareerBuilder survey of 2400 hiring managers that revealed that 71% of hiring managers cited that answering a cell phone or texting someone during a job interview was the worst transgression that a job candidate can make (I guess things have not changed much in the past 12 years).
While answering a cell phone or texting is an egregious thing to do during a job interview (turn off all electronic devices and put them in your briefcase or purse until the interview is over), it is not the only transgression that hiring manager loathe to see from job candidates. Others cited in the survey include:
- Dressing inappropriately – 69%
- Appearing disinterested – 69%
- Appearing arrogant – 66%
- Speaking negatively about a current or previous employer – 63%
- Chewing gum – 59%
- Not providing specific answers – 35%
- Not asking good questions – 32%
I highly recommend those of you who may have interviews in the near future to review this list and avoid making any of the mistakes listed there. In the current economy, hiring managers are looking for prospective job candidates who stand out from the others. But, it is important to remember to stand out for the right reasons!
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!
