Of all the work that goes into a company’s hiring procedures, from search and sourcing through to negotiating the final offer, the most difficult and intricate stage of the process is the interview. Conducting interviews, while a necessary part of the proceedings, requires a good deal of time and effort in order for the employer to successfully assess a candidate for their credentials, history, and cultural compatibility. However, difficult though this process may be, to help simplify this issue as much as possible executive search firms heave identified ten warning signs interviewers should keep in mind when interviewing candidates.
1. Poor or Inappropriate Communication and Behavior
While an interview can certainly be an anxious and stressful experience for most candidates, this is no excuse. Though it is unreasonable to expect everyone to be as well-spoken as the company’s top sales person for example, that is not to say that a certain quality of communicative ability should not be expected, as effective communication is essential to success.
2. Insufficient Responses
Most candidates will have taken some time to prepare for an interview, planning and rehearsing their responses to those most common and expected questions. Therefore, it is a candidate’s responses to follow up questions that will be the most revealing of their knowledge, experience, and communication skills. Here employers will need to create a series of effective follow up questions which seek to draw out this information from the candidate in a means that the candidate won’t be as prepared for.
3. No Longer Term Plan
One thing employers want to avoid in a candidate is someone who has no long term plans of working for their company, only viewing this opportunity as a temporary stepping stone, eventually leaving the company to have to repeat the executive search and hiring process sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, this intent is not something that employers can come right out and as a candidate. However, interviewers should look for any information a candidate may let slip which may indicate any future plans to relocate.
4. Discuss Former Bosses Inappropriately
While bad bosses certainly exist, it is completely unnecessary for a candidate to take the time to bad mouth those they have had in the past and interviewers should take a moment to consider what this behavior may really say about the candidate more than their past employers. Also, candidates who discuss many of their previous bosses in such a manner should certainly be a no go, as this represents some blatant failure on the candidate’s part to get along with their authority figures.
5. Dressed Not for Success
The way a candidate dresses when they come to an interview can speak volumes about their work ethic and mannerisms. While candidates who take the time to dress neatly are effectively communicating a commitment to being tidy and organized, likewise a candidate who is rumpled, dirty, and out of sorts can be seen as demonstrating their lack of caring and disorderly nature.
Look for the next five early warning sign in the follow up to this article.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
