So my task was to get this new CoosJobs.net Blog started off. I sat around for a couple of days and said to myself, “what in the world do I have to say that anyone wants to listen too?” The answer was, not much! So I thought I would go out talk to a few local business owners and hiring managers in our community and from all over Southern Oregon and find out what are the reasons people can’t get hired once they get an interview.
Of course the main answer was if they are not qualified they are not going to get hired. Then I asked, well what if they are qualified, or nearly qualified, what then…and that my friends was a big can of worms. The following list comprises most (but not all) of the common ways that jobseekers ruin their chances come interview day. I arranged the list as a simple top ten list. We like to keep things simple wherever we can (especially for me, because I can be a bit slow on some days). Remember:
friends don’t let friends look like fools at job interviews.
Top Ten Ways to make sure you don’t get Hired
10. Don’t follow instructions!
Employers just love when they ask for something unique or special to their application and interview process and you just ignore them. It gives them, as your future boss to be, that warm fuzzy feeling that you can be trusted to get the job done the right way even when they are not there. Seriously, take a few extra moments and do it their way, unless being the guy none of your friends invite along because they are tired of paying for you is the person you are striving to be.
9. Smoke right before you go in and fidget in the chair!
Smoke a cigarette before you go in and you might as well have walked in with a sign that reads, “I’m sorry boss, I will get around to doing my job as soon as I get done smoking.” Can’t keep still in your chair…why? Got a hot date that is more important than your financial future?
8. Leave your cell phone on so you don’t miss a call!
Believe me that smokin’ hot guy (or gal) you met at the bar last night, just isn’t going to be to interested in someone who can’t get their act together. So turn off the phone and just check your voicemail AFTER you leave from the interview. Maybe you can pick up the check on your next date.
7. Show up late!
Please don’t forget doing interviews is not a part of the normal schedule for most days. So if you really want this job, then try and remember you are on their time, and they aren’t going to appreciate being forced to wait on you. After all it is your job to impress them at this point.
6. Know nothing about the company!
I must take a moment here to let you all in on a little secret that the FBI and CIA don’t want you to know about…they have this thing now called the Internet! It’s just crazy. You can go on a computer and look at these things called “websites” and get all kinds of information on what different people and companies do! How cool would it be to know what the company is all about before you even get to the interview!
5. Talk about how much smarter you are than they are!
You do remember why they don’t send donkeys to school right? No? Well it is because no one likes a smart a**. So lets try and refrain from talking about how stupid you think someone is (even if they are), it is just going to make your new boss think you’ll say the same thing about them.
4. Focus on days off and how much you will get paid!
No, no and um…NO! Just don’t ask not yet. Wait until they say “We think you will do well here and we would like you to start on Monday, what do you say?”
When they ask that, tell them you can’t wait to start, and then go for the kill!
3. Bad mouth a previous employer!
This is just plain bad. For two reasons. 1—It says you don’t know how to own up to your own actions and take responsibility for their outcome (even if you are completely right just leave it out!) 2—Our coastal communities are not very big, and business people talk to other business people. I recently sat in at a function that just happened to have over a dozen business people there, and you should have heard the stories they told each other. They sit around and talk much like you and your co-workers have. Don’t give yourself a bad name. It is a small community and if you were right about your old boss, well then you don’t even have to say it, they most likely already know.
2. Fail a UA!
Do I really have to explain this? Apparently. There is only one thing that employers in our area complain about more (and we will get to that in a second). If the job calls for a drug test and background check, let me remind you that you will fail if you were having a little too much fun at the party last weekend. And on a personal note here, if you know the test is coming and just can’t manage to stay away long enough to pass a test, well then you might want to look into a 12 step program or a rehab center – we have a few in the area.
1. Look like a Bum!
Yes boys and girls, this really is the number one complaint – numero uno!
Hint: Put on clean clothes and not the ones you would go out and mow the lawn with (or the ones you used to fix the car with last week). Your clothes should be professional, nice clean (unwrinkled never hurt either). The final piece here…if you really want this job, then you should take a shower that morning, and use some deodorant (and don’t put on too much perfume or body spray), don’t make the person interview have to disinfect the room when you leave.
On an added personal note, if money is tight and nice clothes are hard to come by, check out local resources for help with interview clothes. We even have information on a few on our local resources pages.
I know most of this list sounds comical, and it is funny, but these are what the employers right here on the Southern Oregon Coast are saying about what YOU, the jobseeker is doing wrong when you come to an interview. One local business owner said it best; interviewing and hiring somebody is like dating, your trying to find that person who is the right fit, and you should be going out of your way to impress each other. So put your best foot forward, and lets get ourselves back to work!