What’s the worst mistake an applicant can make during an interview? Appearing disinterested is at the top of the list, according to a recent CareerBuilder® survey.
While disinterest comes in many forms such as an applicant giving short answers or not being enthusiastic enough, some applicants’ behaviors are shockingly blunt.
For example, one survey respondent witnessed an applicant call his wife to see what was for dinner during an interview. Hungry or not, what a bad idea!
Here are three more shocking (But dare we say honest?) real-life interview disasters that respondents shared:
- Candidate said he had to quit a banking position because he was always tempted to steal.
- Candidate said he didn’t like getting up early and didn’t like to read.
- Candidate commented that he would do whatever it takes to get the job done, legal or not.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen or heard in an interview? Share your story, and it could be featured in an upcoming column. (Submissions can be anonymous.)
Applicant came to interview for office Manager,receptionist job, with short (mid-driff showing)sleevless blouse with croped jeans. Not dressed for what you’d have clients see when they first enter your business.
When I asked the applicant how her friends would describe her, she replied “well, if I had any . . . . hmmm. . . they would probably think I was fun.”
She had lived in our town of 200,000 her whole life.
Another applicant told me of how she was fired from her last job because she was accused of having an affair with the spouse of one of the patients. Of course her boss knew that wasn’t true but to smooth things over for the upset patient she had to be fired.
In one of my first jobs in HR – one of my first interviews – I was hiring a phone operator. A young lady came to her interview dressed in cut-off jeans, a low cut top, and chewed gum through the entire interview. While she may have thought her dress was not important since she would not be seen by the public (this was not a receptionist position – the person would be in a room with the switchboard only answering the phone), you think she would have thought chewing gum was unprofessional.