Interviews can be the toughest challenge for candidates when they search for jobs. Interviews are the final stage of a job hunt, that can make or break your future at the company. Interviewers judge you based on your resume first, but the final decision depends on how you present yourself in an interview.
Recruiters also face some challenges when interviewing candidates. At the time, they fail to assess the candidate accurately or overlook some other aspects.
Job Interviews are stressful for both parties because no one can afford to make mistakes.
5 Job Interview Hurdles to Avoid as a Candidate
To start your dream job, it’s important to recognize unwanted hurdles and prevent them before your interview is ruined.
1) Going in Unprepared
The most common mistake candidates make thinking they know everything and omit on preparing for the interview. A lack of preparation is evident to the recruiter in the way you answer questions.
How to Avoid it?
It’s simple, don’t take the interview and go in prepared. Preparing doesn’t mean preparing for a test; in fact, read up on the company you applied.
- Make sure you know your job— Analyze and match the job description to your skillset. Before you walk in the interview, make sure you can answer questions related to the job opening.
- Read up on the company — Recruiters are usually head-over-heels for candidates who know them and the company inside out. Make small notes related to the company and job opening that can help you. The most commonly asked questions are, “What do we do?” “Who is our competitor?” or “What is our mission statement and vision on the website?”
- Be on time — The biggest turn-off for recruiters is the lateness of candidates. When you’re late for the job interview, it makes the recruiter think you’re not serious about the job. It can leave a negative impact on you and risk your new position at the company.
2) Being Too Friendly
It’s a good practice to appear friendly at interviews, but don’t overdo it. Start low and then build your relationship from there with the recruiter. Make sure you’re polite along the way and try to engage in topics that seem to interest the interviewer.
Don’t go too far with the friendliness because it can be mistaken for flirting. Don’t make too many jokes or discuss personal life that can make your interviewer uncomfortable. Avoid gestures like hugging on the way in or out, shaking hands for too long, or touching cheeks for kisses.
How to Avoid it?
Use the following tips to avoid being too friendly:
- Try not to dominate the conversation or interview — The interview is about you but makes sure you’re not the only talking, give your recruiter a chance to start a topic too.
- Don’t pressure the recruiter into answering — Don’t ask the same question too many times, there might be a reason why the interviewer is avoiding the question.
- Don’t ask for contact information or social media links — Asking such personal information can come across as inappropriate behavior that might end up scaring the interviewer.
- Avoid approaching the recruiter on social platforms right after the interview — Avoid such activities because they give off a stalker vibe that could have a negative impact on your image.
- Be amiable, pleasant, and cheerful — Everyone likes a friendly person, so try to show your positive traits.
3) Mind Your Cell Phone
Time is money, and an interviewer’s time is precious for him. During an interview, it’s unethical to use your cellphone, whether it’s for personal or professional reasons. A ringing cell phone or being engaged in cellular activities is unprofessional while you’re giving an interview. It can agitate the employer and create a negative impact. If you’re constantly checking your phone, the employer could disqualify, even if you check all other boxes.
How to Avoid it?
Here’s what you can do avoid using your cell phone:
- Put your phone to silent.
- Keep your phone in a bag, so you’re no tempted to check it
- If silent doesn’t work, turn it off and put it away for the duration of the interview.
- Try to ignore your vibrating phone during the interview.
4) Forgetting Follow-Ups
Candidates make the mistake of taking follow-up on the job opening. To create a positive impact, make sure to send a thank you text or email to your interviewer and employer.
How to Avoid it?
After a few days, don’t hesitate to ask about the status of the job opening. Be direct and ask, but don’t insist too much because that can be irritating.
Here’s how:
- After a week, leave a text or email saying, “Can I please get a status on the interview?”
- Make sure only to email once, if you don’t get a response, move onto another opportunity.
- Don’t ask again and again for a status update.
- Don’t call or text at an inappropriate time.
5) Body Language
A candidate’s first appearance is body language. A recruiter can often deduct what kind of a person you are by the way you carry yourself. The recruiter might be turned off if you seem too shy or unapproachable while being too friendly can make him uncomfortable.
The interviewer notices everything while you’re talking, how you sit, how you speak. It’s important to maintain a posture and body language that appears friendly before the interview.
If you don’t smile, make eye contact, or shake hands with recruiters you meet during the interview, you might seem stubborn or arrogant. Not sitting with the right posture or tapping your feet can make the interviewer feel uncomfortable. During an interview, your tone, attitude, posture, and selection of words leave an impact on the recruiter and the company.
How to Avoid it?
Here are some tips to help you maintain your body language:
- Sit up straight and professionally.
- Avoid slouching on the chair.
- Don’t tap your fingers on the table or feet on the floor.
- Greet your interviewer with a handshake when he/she enters the room.
- Have a slight smile on your face at all times.
- Maintain eye contact that seems friendly and not staring.
5 Job Interview Hurdles to Avoid as a Recruiter
As a recruiter, it’s essential to recognize interview hurdles and eliminate them. Here are some hurdles to look for and how to avoid them effectively:
1) Interview Fatigue
Often recruiters schedule multiple interviews in one day because that seems easier, but being an interviewer, are you sure you’re consistent with each candidate? While conducting consecutive interviews, the interviewer can unintentionally lose interest and fail to pay the same level of attention to every candidate. If you let interview fatigue get the best of you, it can cost you and your company in the long-run if you fail to choose the best candidate.
How to Avoid it?
Interview fatigue occurs when a recruiter makes the mistake of conducting back to back interviews in a single day. Manage your time and schedule interviews with regular breaks, give yourself time and relax before the next interview. Try to conduct only one to three interviews per day.
2) Don’t Hide Too Much or Share Too Much
Being a recruiter, it’s important for you to find a balance between sharing too much or hiding too much. An interview is basically a two-way conversation, and at times being human interviewers can get carried away and talk too much.
How to Avoid?
They say ‘Honesty is the best policy,’ so make sure you don’t lie or hide anything from the candidate. To avoid this mistake, be completely transparent about the job and its responsibilities from the beginning. Being honest with the candidate should be a priority. Additionally, explain to them the company’s culture and give them a tour of the office as well.
However, being a human, you can get carried away in an interesting conversation, to avoid that mistake learn when to stop. Leave out any details that don’t concern the candidate. Keep yourself from oversharing, and at the same time, make sure you still seem interested in the conversation.
3) Flirting or Inappropriate Behavior
Flirting and inappropriate behavior can make a candidate feel uneasy and uncomfortable. The way you act around candidates can influence his decision to join your company. Don’t come off as too friendly because you might scare off potential new hires.
How to Avoid it?
In a job interview, maintaining eye contact is mandatory, but too much staring can freak the candidate out. Over-friendliness can come across as flirting to some candidates, and it can give a negative impression about you and the company. Put a smile on your face or shake a hand if needed, but don’t impose.
You need to try any kind of gestures or looks that come across as inappropriate behavior. The inappropriate gestures include touching your face, playing with your hair, nodding too much, or sitting too close or too far from the candidate.
4) Try to Avoid Biasness
It is human nature to become a little bias towards some candidates and get carried away. People tend to find similarities with the candidates and tend to give some leverage to friendly applicants.
How to Avoid it?
Here are a few tricks that can help in eliminating biases:
- Tests — Conduct employment tests and judge based on the best score.
- Prepare Questions — Ask predetermined questions, and then pick the candidate with the best answers.
- Fix A Time-limit — Set and maintain a time limit for each candidate and make sure you don’t cross that. Doing this will also save you time to be utilized later.
- Skillset and Candidate — Match the skillset to the job requirement and then interview applicants. Eliminate any candidates that don’t match the job description.
- Take Notes — Focus on making notes on every applicant. Write down anything that seems like an important skill for the job opening.
- Create a Rubric — Before the interviews, contact the hiring managers and ask them for specific skills, experiences, and qualifications needed from the new hire. After every interview, rate the candidate on each ‘rubric specification.’ The rubric should narrow down your choices and make it easy to eliminate bias.
- Blind the Hiring Process — It’s the process of removing all kinds of identification details of the candidate. It helps recruiters hire people based on their skills and experience instead of factors that promote biases.
5) Avoid Rushing the Interview
Don’t make your candidate feel like the interview is being rushed or you’re in a hurry to leave. There are a lot of things on which the interviewers don’t focus on initially. Researching about the candidate, knowing about their past experiences, and then preparing the questions. During an interview, interviewers don’t take much time. For example, they usually rush and try to wind it up quickly. Don’t focus entirely on ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions; try asking questions that challenge the candidate’s common sense and skillset.
As a recruiter, you are busy and have a lot on your plate, but don’t make the candidate feel unimportant or unheard. When you invite a candidate, they deserve your time, and that’s the only way to evaluate them to make the right decision.
How to Avoid it?
Avoid rushing the interviews because that comes off as rude, instead use the time to get to know the candidate, their interests, and past experiences.
Here are a few tips to avoid rushing the interview:
- Engage in a conversation — If you feel like there’s ample amount of time left, try paying attention to the candidate and engage in intellectual discussions that highlight his skill set.
- Prepare Questions — If you have various candidates for the same role, try asking the same questions.
- Schedule effectively — Recruiters rush through the interview when they’re on a schedule. Try to eliminate that possibility and schedule the interview when you are available to give complete attention to the candidate.
Efficiency is Key!
There are ways to avoid interview hurdles on both sides. For candidates, they need to be at their best behavior and act appropriately to impress the interviewer and organization.
To avoid such problems, as a recruiter, try to implement innovative recruitment methods. Some of these methods include attractive job posts, social media, video interviewing, or recruitment platforms. Adopting these methods can make your hiring process efficient and more organized.
Good luck with the interview!
The post 10 Job Interview Hurdles Both Candidates and Recruiters Must Avoid appeared first on CareerMetis.com.
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