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Bad interviewers are turning candidates away
British businesses are making a bad first impression on job seekers, putting off potential employees with a lack of basic interviewing skills and losing out on talent, according to research from T-Mobile. The survey found that 35% of people came away from a job interview with a bad impression of the company, often blaming the interviewer, citing rudeness, lateness, sexism and even drunkenness. 43% of those who had a bad interview went as far as to turn down their subsequent job offer.

Reasons cited for a bad interview experience ranged from the professional to the personal. 40% of people were asked questions that were completely unrelated to the job. Over a third (35%) said that the interviewer was unprepared and nearly one in five stated that they didn’t like the company culture and values. Worryingly, 18% of interviewers were late, 16% were sexist, 7% were racist, 7% had bad personal hygiene and nearly 2% were drunk.

Despite their bad experiences, respondents were clear about what they do expect when they attend an interview. 78% want to see a pleasant working environment, 50% want a clear plan of career progression outlined, over half (55%) want to be asked intelligent questions relating to the job and over a third (34%) want to fit with the company’s culture and values. Interviewees also looked for qualities in the company that they think will give them workplace happiness – for example, 43% want to work with like-minded people.

“Interviewees are always under pressure to create a good first impression, but it seems that businesses need to feel a bit of that pressure as well,” said Mark Martin, HR Director at T-Mobile UK. “They should be passionate and capable of recruiting the right people with the right values or risk losing out on the best talent. Candidates are beginning to place a company’s culture and values at the top of their agenda, so businesses need to think about how these are expressed in an interview situation – or their reputation and brand could be on the line.”

Judi James, an expert in body language, image, workplace culture and communication skills, said, “In an interview situation, judgements are being made on both sides – this is a prospective candidate’s first experience of a company’s culture and values. It is just as important for employers to impress, because people will turn down job offers if they feel the company doesn’t take them seriously or treat them respectfully.

“Interviews can be stressful and tricky at the best of times, but if you do find it going badly through no fault of your own then don’t panic. Keeping your cool and remaining dignified in an awkward situation will create a great impression and if the interviewer is that bad then you probably won’t want the job anyway.”

(Courtesy The People Bulletin)

To learn more about interviewing techniques, please click here.




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