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Being the first point of contact with hundreds of applicants for employment every year I come in contact with many frustrated job applicants. On occasion I will get a call or email from a frustrated person who was turned down for a job they wanted badly asking me for advice on what they could have done differently.
I want to tell them but am told that it is not a good idea because they may misunderstand what I say and hold the company liable or complain to the wrong person. Though many people are not hired even though they were great, other people need someone to pull them aside and tell them honestly that they will be job hunting for a very long time if they keep making these mistakes.
If you were a hiring manager or interviewed candidates for a living, would you be honest to someone who asked your advice? How honest?
Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen if they did. I don't know why people even want to know what they did wrong. In the end the employer didn't think you were the best qualified applicant. Nothing to be upset about. Heck you might have been overqualified.
If it is something like, "We were looking for someone who has more experience in this program or that program" then maybe that would be helpful.
Who are these masses of candidates you interview and what CRITICAL errors do these professionals make? I cannot believe everyone comes in dressed in flipflops or smelling (glaring mistakes). Are they all fat? Are they liars? Are they too old or too demanding?
Are they rude? Do they not listen and answer the question? Do they sidestep the questions about salary?
Please tell us (apart from stupid errors about lack of hygiene and badly dressing) WHAT all these 'failures' are doing to screw up their job searches? I would really love to know and bet the rest of long term unemployed would, too.
I know that as a recruiter I do my best to get feedback for people who I have sent on interviews. I think that the feedback is essential to help the job seeker know what they need to work on.
Do they need to work on their interview skills
Did they say something wrong in the interview
Was there a skill that they were not strong in that they need to work on
These are all legitimate questions that I think that it is only fair that the person interviewing for the job needs to have answered.
I am just so damn curious what screw ups people do to screw themselves out of a job as implied.
So many people are out of work and I would say a good portion, at least those of us who are educated (in the real world or college) would know to look nice, speak politely and try to be pleasant and informative in interviews.
Do people SERIOUSLY go to white collar job interviews in 'torn jeans, dirty shirts, smelling, drunk, hung over, with sloppy appearances or act defensively?"
I wonder what insight we can gain here to find out how masses of people have not qualified for jobs...?? I have seen people do all the wrong things, yet THEY have jobs.
The most common mistakes people make in interviews
OK, it seems like some of you think the average white collar worker is a wonderful interviewer and they are not hired just because of some idiot in HR or an inept hiring manager. Well, that is not true. In fact many applicants who apply for office jobs are just plain terrible. Here is a list of the problems I as a recruiter see all the time:
1) Incredible lack of poise and professionalism. They make me nervous because their interpersonal skills and poise is so weak. Poor eye contact, overly nervous and always fidgeting.
2) Personality that turns everyone off. Nearly everyone who is brought in for an interview have similar technical skills. Applicants need to understand that we are interviewing for fit as well as technical skills.
3) Applicant is not able to validate their resume. I ask them about things on their resume and they are not able to explain what they did. It is almost like they sent us another person's resume.
4) They do not show any energy or interest in the job. They appear to be shopping around. They do not make a pitch for themselves at the end of the interview and ask for the job.
5) They do not have any questions or if they do have some, they appear scripted right out of a job hunting book and were already answered earlier in the meeting.
6) They go into the interview blind and dumb with no knowledge of the company or the nature and responsibilities of the job.
7) They have no prepared talking points to sell their accomplishments, talents and skills.
8) Their answers are long and rambling or so short I have to keep asking them follow up questions over and over.
9) They show no real commitment to their career and do not describe any examples of a commitment to life long learning.
10) They fumble over the most common interview questions that they should have prepared answers to. (Like your strengths and weaknesses, tell me about your self, where do you see your self in five years, etc)
11) They speak only to their own career interests and not the needs of the organization.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GypsySoul22
I am just so damn curious what screw ups people do to screw themselves out of a job as implied.
So many people are out of work and I would say a good portion, at least those of us who are educated (in the real world or college) would know to look nice, speak politely and try to be pleasant and informative in interviews.
Do people SERIOUSLY go to white collar job interviews in 'torn jeans, dirty shirts, smelling, drunk, hung over, with sloppy appearances or act defensively?"
I wonder what insight we can gain here to find out how masses of people have not qualified for jobs...?? I have seen people do all the wrong things, yet THEY have jobs.
When you pay bottom-of-the-barrel salaries, you are going to get bottom-of-the-barrel job applicants. You should be glad they aren't wearing overalls and flip-flops.
Weekend Traveler - very good post. I have seen the same type of behavior in interviews. Some people just have to believe that the world is against them, and they won't take any responsibility for their own inadequacies and behavior. They prefer to delude themselves into thinking they didn't get the job because they are superior, instead of accepting that they need to improve their own skills.
As for your original question, I think it would be helpful to be honest, but you do have to be careful what you say. But if they call and ask, I see nothing wrong with giving some constructive criticism.
WT--Thank you for sharing specifics! This sort of thing may be able to help me in the future.
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The most common mistakes people make in interviews
