Debunking Interview Mistakes - Spark Hire

Debunking Interview Mistakes - Spark HireIn a competitive job market, any reason to eliminate a candidate from the ocean-sized applicant pool can be tempting. Enter the classic list of einstellungsgesprch mistakes that candidates are never supposed to make being late unprofessional dress speaking poorly of a former boss the list goes on. However, are these actually good reasons to cross a candidate off your list? After all life happens sometimes you dont know what to wear and sometimes you really did work for a crazy person. Lets take a look at some classic interview sins, and rethink the severity of the crimes.LatenessBeing late usually tops the list of fatal interview mistakes. This is understandable. Things may not bode well for a candidate who cannot manage to be on time for one very important appointment. However, it is important to remember that punctuality can be affected by many things outside of a candidates control. Bad luck like car trouble, road conditions, and even over sleeping can happen to anyone. These things dont reflect on the candidates competency or commitment to success at your company. Bad luck means the candidate is human. When trying to decide whether to forgive this interview mistake, consider the candidates explanation for being late. Also consider whether or not he/she called ahead to let you know about the impending tardiness.Inappropriate DressThis interview mistake cant be passed off so easily as bad luck. Professional appearance is very important in many workplaces, especially when client interaction is involved. Personal appearance is one good way to judge a candidates judgment. However, wardrobe is also subjective and (lets be honest) superficial. Rules for a professional wardrobe are debatable since they differ by industry and by company. Even an overly conservative approach might not fare as well in certain kinds of artistic fields. So, if a candidate misses the mark on your company dress code, consider cutting him/her some s lack. Remember that we teach kids not to judge a book by its cover. You might be missing out on an otherwise competent employee.Criticism of a Former EmployerThis is perhaps the cardinal sin of job interviews. Every job interview candidate on the planet is warned away from criticizing their former employer, even if they deserve it. This alone may be enough to consider dumping any candidate who makes this mistake. And, to be fair, bashing an old boss is not a very professional thing to do. However, consider all of the havoc that a bad boss can wreak on a persons professional life. A candidate trying to land a new job may have a very difficult time explaining a termination or abrupt resignation without explaining a negative situation with their former boss. Complaining and over-sharing about prior management is rude. Cogently explaining a bad situation shouldnt be such a problem. After all, most of us have worked for mediocre to bad bosses beforewhy pretend that they dont exist?These are my opinions on some common interview mistakes. What are yours? Leave a comment below, or send me a tweet ithinkther4iambIMAGE Courtesy of Flickr by Alex E. Proimos