Why Applicants are disqualified in Job Interviews

Obviously, the number one reason a candidate might be knocked out of the competition for a particular job is a lack of technical qualifications to do the work. However, many people leave interviews having brought negative results upon themselves. Here are the knockout factors we most often hear from client companies:

1. Asking questions with negative overtones, indicating attitude problems, or a persistent “what can you do for me” posture. (This is quite common for younger interviewees.)

2. Failing to ask appropriate questions about the job responsibilities – or to ask any questions at all. (Make sure your notebook is full of fallback questions to ask during “dead air.”)

3. Showing too much concern about money or raising salary questions early in the interview, indicating availability to the highest bidder. Let them bring up this subject first!

4. Making negative comments about past employers or colleagues.

5. Indicating willingness to discuss proprietary areas of prior work. (They will respect you more if you indicate that you can’t talk about the details.)

6. Lacking a definite set of career goals or seeming to lack direction for the future.

7. Failing to express thoughts or communicate clearly. (Often, a lack of eye contact can result in “poor

communication skills” comments.)

8. A lack of enthusiasm and interest in the interviewing company. (Although no one bases a hiring decision solely on enthusiasm, it is the glue that holds the personal chemistry of candidate and company together.)

9. Appearing afraid to admit to an area of weakness. (This often shows up as a tendency to inflate knowledge about a particular subject.)

10. An obvious lack of preparation by revealing a limited knowledge of the company or by delivering a poorly prepared seminar.