10 types of nightmare candidates

The peak season to switch jobs is here and the recruitment department is stressed out by having to meet with a huge number of job seekers every day. Adding to the stress are weird behaviours from candidates, such as eating and singing during the interview.

In a blog post, human resources blogger "Bitter HR" shared the worst things he has ever seen candidates do at a job interview.

1. The runaway candidateThe candidate left the office during a written test without alerting anyone.  The HR team called him immediately, and the candidate explained he had to go because of urgent family matters. The HR team later found out the real reason he took off was because he had no idea how to answer the questions in the test.

2. Cell phone ringingIt is common sense to turn off one's phone during a job interview. Bitter HR said an effective way to screen out bad candidates is to have a colleague ring the candidate five minutes into a job interview. If the interviewee's phone rings, they're out.

3. Dishonest candidatesLying about one's ability and experience is really a stupid thing to do. At some point the interviewer will go into detail about the technical aspects of the job, and the candidate will end up embarrassed.

4. Lack of eye contactMaking eye-contact during a conversation shows the candidate is confident in himself.  This is the least the HR team can expect from a candidate.

5. Coming in unpreparedDifferent stages of the job application process require different levels of preparation. But any interviewer should consider ending the interview if the candidate fails to answer the question "What does the company do?"

6. Endless self-introductionThe worst candidates are those who talk about their family when asked to give a self-introduction. The interviewer is there to consider the candidate for a position, not their extended family.

7. Helicopter parentsSpeaking of families, it seems for some younger candidates, bringing their parents to job interviews has become a thing. Strange behaviours of helicopter parents of job seekers such as requesting to sit in during the job interview or filling out the application for their children, can leave hiring managers with no choice but to disqualify the candidates.

8. Asking silly questionsThe hiring manager always asks the candidate if he or she has any questions. Candidates with no questions are not ideal, but are arguably better than those who ask "Do I have to work overtime?" and "What time do I finish work?"

9. Dressing inappropriatelyWhile major firms like J.P. Morgan and PwC have chosen to adopt a more casual dress code, candidates are still expected to dress formally for job interviews. Bitter HR shared that he has turned away a highly capable candidate in the past, because he wore sandals to the job interview.

10. Making outrageous salary demandsThere are an abundance of tools for candidates to research how much they can reasonably expect to be paid. As such, it is highly unlikely for hiring managers to offer a job to candidates who come in unprepared for salary talks and make outrageous demands as a result.

ALSO READ: The ten things that drive HR crazy

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