While there are many factors considered for an interview candidate being selected or rejected for a job, we discuss over here about the behavioral aspect of the candidates during the interview.
When he/she comes for an interview, it is their behavior which resembles their character. As we all know “First impression is the best impression”. Even if they are not certain about whether the job is right for them or whether they will be selected, some level of preparedness is essential to impress the selection committee or the interviewer.
An invitation to an interview means that an employer believes they have potential to be offered a job. The onus is on the candidate to convince the recruiter that they are the right person. This is a chance to back up everything that the employer has read about them in their job resume.
In many cases, the behavior of the candidate irritates the recruiter or employer and creates a bad opinion on the candidate, which finally ends up in rejecting the application. If the candidates do not behave well during the interview process, there are possibilities that his job application will be rejected, even if they qualify for the job.
Some of the misbehaviors are:
1. Not turning up:
This is the case where many recruiters are disappointed by the candidates. The interviews are scheduled after confirming the availability of the candidate & interviewer, but still candidates will not turn up on the scheduled date & time. The recruiters will not be intimated about their unavailability on that date through mail or phone. When the recruiter tries to contact the candidate through mail or phone for follow-up or reschedule, there will be no response from the candidates.
2. Not on time:
Candidates should value time. They should be on time for the interview. Most of the candidates are always late by at least 10 to 15 minutes. They also don’t have a courtesy to apologies for late coming. This creates an inconvenient to the recruiter as it affects interview times of other candidates already waiting for the interview at the same time. So the candidates should also value the time of the recruiter.
3. Being Dishonest:
Candidates should not lie to the Recruiter during an interview. They should understand that their documents are crosschecked. They should always show what they actually are. They should not exaggerate things. Candidates should express themselves clearly and concisely during the interview.
4. Being excessively nervous
Some degree of anxiety is normal at an interview, but hiring managers report some candidates take nervousness to the extreme. Applicants stuttered, giggled, babbled, and forgot what jobs they were applying for.
5. Being unprepared
Unprepared candidates come to an interview and show little familiarity with information easily available on the Web or on the materials provided to candidates. It’s a waste of time for everyone involved.
6. Expecting a high-level looks of the office:
It is common for the candidates to decide based on the looks of the office. They don’t understand that the performances of the company, employee benefits etc are important for a company than the outlook of its office. There are many offices which don’t look good, but their employees are highly satisfied about the company.
7. Focus is only on Salary:
Candidates, these days, focus on salary part mainly. In fact, many people negotiate for long time. They are curious to know about the increment cycle, percentage of increment etc. Well, there is nothing wrong in asking these details, but it is noticed that they are particular about these things only and not other important things like their job profile, responsibilities etc.
8. Failure to join duty on the agreed date:
Recruitment Cycle is incomplete if the candidate who is offered a job doesn’t join on the agreed date.
Many candidates (who are selected and offered a job) are smart enough to negotiate their increment and promotion in their existing company.
Many others obtain offers from few companies parallely and decide the best among them.
All the efforts, time and energy spent in offering a job becomes waste and also the fact the position remains vacant. Many companies do no follow consistency in conducting interviews once the position is offered. Thos companies will suffer a lot if the offered candidate does not join on the date.
Tips for Candidates:
While we point out the behavior of the candidates, we also would like to suggest some tips on how to behave during the interview process:
1. If you are unable to attend an interview, inform the recruiter about the same so that they could make an alternate arrangement and also, this will show them how prompt you are.
2. Make sure you know the time and location of the interview. Try and arrive about 10 – 15 minutes early. Use this time to freshen up. In case you reach the venue late, extend your apologies to the interviewer sincerely.
3. Answer all questions truthfully. If you lie or vastly exaggerate your abilities and skills, you will be shown up.
4. While nervous is common, don’t express it out. Be confident, polite and strong.
5. Before attending the interview, do a research about the company, its competitors, its development within the industry. Know about the products / services, its size, income, reputation, goals etc. This will attract the interviewer as it will make his work discharged easily.
6. Outlook of the office is not the only and important factor. You will have to look what are your role and growth going to be, as that’s most important.
7. Don’t discuss much about Salary. As you are a stranger to the recruiter, your first responsibility has to be on proving your talents. Before knowing your performances, an employer will not be able to offer you high salaries than normal standards.
8. Think of questions you would like to ask the recruiter about the company and the position you are applying for. This shows you have done some homework and are interested in the company and its business.
9. Answer all questions with consideration, it is better to take a pause and think about a question rather than rushing into an answer.
10. It’s your commitment to join on duty if you accept an offer. You must understand that the employer has offered a job by having a trust on you. If you don’t keep up, it is a complete character of irresponsibility. If you are unable to accept an offer for genuine reasons, you must inform the recruiter accordingly so that they could work out alternate plan.
