3 Interview Mistakes Recruiters Hate

Written by Bernie

Bernie Frazier, SPHR is the Founder and President of CAREERCompass, LLC, a speaking and career coaching firm in St. Louis, MO. She also spent almost 25 years recruiting talent to six organizations across four industries and led the talent acquisition function for four of those organizations, including one global team.

One of the biggest challenges for candidates is that the job search process is not an exact science.  As soon I give you the __ steps to finding the job of your dream, you’ll find a job in fewer or more steps – that’s just how it is.  No one has absolute control over when time and opportunity will meet.  What I always strive to do is give my clients the most probable 80 percent, allowing for the unexpected ten percent on either end to creep in.

Because there is no exact science to the process, I believe this makes interviewing twice the challenge because there are no do-overs if you make a mistake.  As a speaker, career coach and corporate Talent Acquisition expert, I could write a list of things candidates do that drive recruiters crazy which would run off of the page.  However, if I did this, most of you would probably want to throw up your hands and never interview again.  The good news is some mistakes are recoverable, especially if you have a strong background for the position!

Nevertheless, there are still a few mistakes that are unforgiveable no matter how strong your background is.  If you can avoid these pitfalls, you give yourself a much greater chance of success:

  1. Arrogance

It doesn’t matter how much a recruiter drools over your background, if you approach your interview from a position of arrogance, it is an absolute, complete turn off!  In Daniel Goleman’s book, “Working with Emotional Intelligence,” he points out that 67% of the abilities deemed essential for effective performance are emotional competencies – not a high IQ or expertise.  He also states that, “…more and more employers are complaining about the lack of social skills in hiring.”  Employers are seeking employees who can create/support positive work environments and establish good relationships, not tear them down.

  1. Unable to answer basic interview questions

You spent good money updating your resume, spent energy networking with everyone willing to connect with you, and spent time praying to get the interview.  Guess what?  You got the interview!  However, when you arrived and your interviewer asked, “So, why are you interested in working for our organization?,” you hadn’t given this enough thought and preparation to be able to provide a strong response.  Really?  This is what recruiters call an Interview 101 question – the basics.  When you can’t answer the basic questions, here’s what the recruiter hears:  “I didn’t take this opportunity serious enough to do my homework and make sure I was prepared, therefore, I just came to waste your time.”  Not. Good.

  1. Dishonesty

Now, this can be a tricky one because some candidates are really good at speaking dishonestly during an interview.  However, there are three times during an interview process where an employer can often learn the truth – reference check, drug test or background check. When this occurs, it usually leads to disqualification from the interview process.  It also quite often leads to receiving a negative mark in the employer’s applicant tracking system which could cause you to not be considered for jobs with them in the future.

If you present yourself in confident manner, do your homework to help ensure you’re prepared to answer (at least) basic interview questions and speak honestly and from the heart, you give yourself a much greater chance at interview success and landing the job.

Until next time….