Bad Interviews: Why They Didn't Get the Job

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Despite the abundance of advice on how to prepare for a job interview, many seeking jobs never heard any of it.

How else can you explain these true accounts OfficeTeam has compiled and released?

OfficeTeam, a staffing service that focuses on placing highly skilled administrative professionals, asked its clients’ managers to relate the most embarrassing job interview mistakes they had experienced, witnessed or learned about from another manager.

Among the faux pas:

• A candidate called the interviewer by the wrong name.
• Another arrived with lettuce visible on his teeth.
• A female candidate was so nervous she came close to fainting.
• One applicant gave a song and dance -- literally.
• Yet another brought his pet dog -- and it wasn’t for a job at a pet groomer or dog kennel.
• Interviewers have made their share of mistakes, OfficeTeam, a Robert Half company, found.
• One spilled a pot of coffee on the applicant. Another opened the door to a closet instead of the room where he was to meet the candidate. And a hiring manager had the wrong resume on his desk as he interviewed the candidate.
• But applicants made far more mistakes or exercised poor judgment. John Malloy’s Dress for Success was not in the bookshelves of the man who arrived for an interview wearing sweatpants, the woman wearing mismatched shoes (no doubt she had a complementary pair just like them at home) or the man who didn’t realize his zipper was down.
• Then there was the man who started swearing during his interview, the candidate who fell asleep and the applicant who chewed gum and kept checking her cellphone.
• And the candidate who bragged, “I never let people see me sweat” – as he perspired profusely.
• The “ultimate of interview mistakes: “A guy who didn’t know what job he was applying for,” OfficeTeam says.

A word to the wise is redundant but those preparing for a job interview should still keep in mind these seven tips Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam, offers:

Study the company that’s extended you an interview. That allows you to ask better questions and demonstrate your knowledge of, and interest in, the position.

Do a dry run. Anticipate the questions you’re likely to be asked, both the softballs and tough questions. You’ll be judged on what seems inconsequential as well as the probing questions. Have a friend conduct a mock interview.

Dress to impress. When in doubt, wear a suit, Hosking advises. Pay attention to detail.

Map out your trip to the interview office and build in extra time to allow for delays. Be prompt. “A candidate claimed he was late because he got lost,” a manager told OfficeTeam, “but the receptionist saw him hanging out at the coffee shop.”

Be honest. If you lie or stretch the truth, it’ll catch up with you. It could happen quickly. “One job applicant was caught lying on her resume during the meeting,” an interviewer told OfficeTeam.

Watch your delivery. Be aware of your body language and remain engaged during the interview. Take your time to give thorough, succinct responses.

Be tactful. Always speak diplomatically about former employers. Never disparage them. Criticizing former employers or managers makes you look worse than you paint them.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our twice-monthly print edition and to our free daily email headlines.