TOP TEN INTERVIEW/JOB APPLICATION CLANGERS
How applicants for jobs can let themselves down
Bad English. Yes, first on the list we have letters, CVs, application forms riddled with spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and sentences which either don’t make sense or where the meaning isn’t clear. Where do these applications finish up? Have a guess.
Confusing CVs. Next are CVs where the information presented in them jumps about in no logical order and which are therefore difficult/impossible to follow. They too end up on the reject pile.
Arriving late for interviews. The classic bad start! When there are other applicants to be seen someone arriving late is going to have a knock-on effect on the rest of the interviewer’s day. Applicants who arrive late and don’t apologise or offer lame excuses make matters worse for themselves.
Bad manners. Every interviewer has a tale to tell here. Applicants who chew gum, applicants who yawn and stare into space, even an applicant who took a phone out of his pocket to check a text message: the list is endless.
Not listening. Coming close behind bad manners is not listening which interviewers understandably find irritating. Not listening manifests itself in applicants asking questions about something that’s already been explained to them or not answering the question that’s been put to them meaning the interviewer has to ask it again.
Contradictions. Usually the result of poor preparation, applicants who say one thing in their CVs/application forms then say something completely different in their replies to questions put to them at interviews e.g. their reasons for leaving jobs. Interviewers are left wondering which version is the truth or, worse, if everything they’re being told is a pack of lies.
Taking over interviews. These are applicants who can’t stop talking (usually about themselves). They make it difficult for interviewers to get words in edgeways and often the result is interviews which run out of time before important ground has been covered (ground which is important to the applicant).
Complaining about previous bosses. Good interviewers are sympathetic listeners who are trained to nod along when applicants start running down people/organisations they’ve worked for previously. Without realising it these applicants are putting themselves across as people who are hard to manage and won’t therefore make good employees.
Trying to pull the wool over interviewers’ eyes. Usually done to cover up gaps in experience/knowledge or skeletons in the cupboard. The result is rambling evasive answers to questions which put interviewers on alert.
Reacting to not getting the job. What some applicants don’t appreciate is how often employers go back to applicants they’ve interviewed previously e.g. when another vacancy arises or when the applicant they offered the job to doesn’t start (or starts and turns out to be a disaster). A pity therefore for those applicants who reacted to being told they weren’t successful by ringing up the people who interviewed them and offering them a piece of their minds.
How applicants for jobs can let themselves down
Bad English. Yes, first on the list we have letters, CVs, application forms riddled with spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and sentences which either don’t make sense or where the meaning isn’t clear. Where do these applications finish up? Have a guess.
Confusing CVs. Next are CVs where the information presented in them jumps about in no logical order and which are therefore difficult/impossible to follow. They too end up on the reject pile.
Arriving late for interviews. The classic bad start! When there are other applicants to be seen someone arriving late is going to have a knock-on effect on the rest of the interviewer’s day. Applicants who arrive late and don’t apologise or offer lame excuses make matters worse for themselves.
Bad manners. Every interviewer has a tale to tell here. Applicants who chew gum, applicants who yawn and stare into space, even an applicant who took a phone out of his pocket to check a text message: the list is endless.
Not listening. Coming close behind bad manners is not listening which interviewers understandably find irritating. Not listening manifests itself in applicants asking questions about something that’s already been explained to them or not answering the question that’s been put to them meaning the interviewer has to ask it again.
Contradictions. Usually the result of poor preparation, applicants who say one thing in their CVs/application forms then say something completely different in their replies to questions put to them at interviews e.g. their reasons for leaving jobs. Interviewers are left wondering which version is the truth or, worse, if everything they’re being told is a pack of lies.
Taking over interviews. These are applicants who can’t stop talking (usually about themselves). They make it difficult for interviewers to get words in edgeways and often the result is interviews which run out of time before important ground has been covered (ground which is important to the applicant).
Complaining about previous bosses. Good interviewers are sympathetic listeners who are trained to nod along when applicants start running down people/organisations they’ve worked for previously. Without realising it these applicants are putting themselves across as people who are hard to manage and won’t therefore make good employees.
Trying to pull the wool over interviewers’ eyes. Usually done to cover up gaps in experience/knowledge or skeletons in the cupboard. The result is rambling evasive answers to questions which put interviewers on alert.
Reacting to not getting the job. What some applicants don’t appreciate is how often employers go back to applicants they’ve interviewed previously e.g. when another vacancy arises or when the applicant they offered the job to doesn’t start (or starts and turns out to be a disaster). A pity therefore for those applicants who reacted to being told they weren’t successful by ringing up the people who interviewed them and offering them a piece of their minds.