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Amanda Luzzader
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So, it’s time to hire someone, and you’ve collected resumes from several candidates, but the interview process is yet to come. How can you know if a candidate is really great, or if they look good only on paper? How do you know you’re not about to hire the new workplace jerk, or the new office slacker? Here are 10 warning signs that you’re about to hire the wrong person.
1. Mistakes on their resume.
Let’s begin before the interview even takes place. Scrutinize the candidate’s resume—not just for qualifications, but for written communication skills. The language, grammar, spelling, and formatting you see on the resume? That’s what you’ll likely e-mail messages, reports, and memos you can expect. Make your choice accordingly!
2. Troubling online presence.
This one comes before the interview, too. While most people will try to keep their online presence scrubbed up and presentable, a little social media stalking can reveal much about a person and their integrity. Questionable online content (e.g., signs of extreme behavior or information that contradicts their resume) can serve as red flags.
3. Arriving at the interview late.
Now the interview is about to begin, but is the candidate on time? According to an article by Linkedin recruitment specialist Liam Davis, this may not be a deal-breaker, but it is a no-brainer. Davis says arriving late may not only hint at poor self-management skills, but also a certain inconsiderate attitude toward the interviewer(s).
4. Poor-mouthing previous employers or bosses.
Davis adds that this red flag can reveal a lack of willingness to take responsibility and a general inability to get along with others. If the candidate doesn’t feel good about past employers, there’s a chance they’ll eventually feel the same about you and your organization.
5. A record of job-hopping, inconsistent career path, or long gaps in employment.
Each of these is its own red flag, and your job candidate may have perfectly reasonable explanations, but watch out for employees who have not been consistently employed, have jumped around to different fields, or who have long breaks in their job history—it may indicate that the candidate won’t stick around long term.
6. Lack of coherent responses to interview questions.
A recent article published by the Harvard Business Review suggests, “If you don’t feel that you’re getting specific and direct answers, that’s a red flag… You should ask follow-up probing questions until you feel like you’ve been given the specificity you need.”
7. Lack of references.
Any viable job candidate should be able to round up at least a few credible and supportive references. If you’re unable to contact the references supplied by a candidate, or if the candidate refuses to furnish any references, it’s a major red flag.
8. Lying.
This one’s fairly simple—if you detect any dishonesty in a candidate’s representation of themselves (whether it’s on a resume, the result of a reference contact, social media snooping, or otherwise), it should probably not be considered just a red flag, but a dealbreaker.
9. Multiple resumes or applications.
A blog post by job-search website Job Monkey points out that finding a candidate who has applied for multiple positions at your organization can be taken two ways: “either the candidate is so passionate about your company that they will work any job to be employed there OR it means they are totally desperate and unqualified.” Solve this riddle with personal judgment and penetrating interview questions.
10. Unwillingness to express weakness or failings.
Job Monkey also points out the red flag that pops up when you speak to a candidate who won’t admit to any weaknesses: “Every job interviewer should ask a candidate to identify their weakness. If they can’t or won’t, they are either unprepared or dangerously confident.”
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-red-flags-hiring-managers-look-out-when-candidates-liam-davis
https://hbr.org/2022/06/10-red-flags-to-watch-out-for-in-a-job-interview
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