Welcome to my torture chamber- I hope you don’t mind that I’ll be drilling out your tooth, without Novocaine!
For many of us job applicants, we’re often made to feel this way before, during, and after a job interview. But in this robust job market for knowledge workers, the stakes have changed.
The interview process for applicants and employers is always a less-than-comfortable, but necessary experience. No matter how many times you participate in the process, it’s inevitable that you’ll be out of your comfort zone. Unfortunately, many employers exacerbate the level of discomfort for prospective candidates by saying or doing certain things that ultimately turn off that person towards their organization. In the end, solid candidates may be lost in the process. Over the years I have seen a pattern of these missteps including;
- Not being prepared for the candidate by not having read their resume in advance
- Being late to the interview and/or keeping the candidate waiting
- Asking inappropriate questions, leaving the candidate with no ‘right’ answer to give
- Being inattentive or distracted during the interview, ie checking email
- Not being clear about their interview process
- Handing the candidate off to others impulsively without a clear direction
- Not managing and respecting the candidate’s time by allowing the interview to go excessively long
- Not sharing information about their firm and the details of the position
- Telling off-color jokes
- Offering a handshake and not knowing when to end it
Ultimately, interviewers can avoid many missteps by simply imagining the roles reversed…..and skipping the drilling altogether!
Author: Gary Ruby