Job applicants who flop

System

As an HR professional, you've probably run across job applicants who make mistakes in their efforts to land a job. Everybody knows that applicants who show up late for an interview with a resume full of typos is out of the running, but what are the less obvious reasons you reject candidates? Do candidates apply even though they don't have the qualifications specified in your job posting? Are they making mistakes during the interview process that cause you to write them off? What have you experienced and what are your thoughts on why you sometimes have trouble filling positions even though there's an abundance of job seekers.

Also, how do you handle a candidate's red flags when you see them? What are your secrets to finding a strong applicant pool?

Still Need Coffee

Oh, this is a fun one, and a good exercise in defining your hiring philosophy!

What are the less obvious reasons you reject candidates?
- For us, it's culture fit. We have such a strong culture at our company that if someone isn't going to fit in, it's really not worth pursuing them, despite any technical qualifications.

Do candidates apply even though they don't have the qualifications specified in your job posting?
- All the time. Luckily we have an ATS that can help us weed through some of these.

Are they making mistakes during the interview process that cause you to write them off?
- Absolutely. Some of the most common offenders are: bashing your current company/boss, playing with their cell phone (yes, this recently happened to me), not answering the question (going on a tangent, beating around the bush, etc), being too forthcoming about personal matters (boyfriend troubles, legal troubles, depression, medical stuff, partying).

What have you experienced and what are your thoughts on why you sometimes have trouble filling positions even though there's an abundance of job seekers.
- Currently, although there is an abundance of job seekers, they aren't necessarily qualified job seekers, and/or they are slightly nuts. Not joking - the last round of interviews I did was a step away from the funny farm. Also, the fact that we do put so much emphasis on culture fit further narrows our pool of eligible candidates. We just aren't desperate enough to start lowering our standards when it comes to who we'll consider, but if the candidate pool stays like it is, we may have to.

How do you handle a candidate's red flags when you see them?
- I try not to call attention to them, and finish the interview as planned. If someone is exhibiting a red flag that falls into some sort of protected characteristic (age, medical, etc) I try to move onto another subject as soon as possible. We coach all our interviewing managers to never write down ANYTHING that relates to protected characteristics, but rather write a simple "No" on their notes to remind them we don't wish to pursue the candidate, if that's their final decision.

What are your secrets to finding a strong applicant pool?
- It's all about the job posting. Simply posting the job description in an online ad isn't going to attract the type of person we're looking for, so we create fun ads that represent our company's culture and sense of humor, hoping to draw similarly-minded people. Where you post is important as well, based on the geographic area and type of position. Finally, we rely heavily on employee referrals and networking for candidates. We have a solid referral program, and each employee is encouraged to network in the community and on sites like LinkedIn to develop connections outside of work.

FunHRBanker

I agree with Need Coffee on the people applying without even minimum qualifications. I'm currently looking for an IT person and have gotten a resume from someone who only has experience in retail.

It's hard for me to get past a 3 page resume. I just don't want to read all of that.

How someone dresses for the interview may eliminate them for me. We're a conservative, professional organization. I also can't stand the "dead fish" handshake. They really need to teach that in school!

cnghr

I agree with what the others have said so far. We have had some spectacularly unqualified applicants for the positions they were applying for, so those pretty much always hit the "do not interview" file right away. We had one applicant for an IT position some years back who had never even touched a computer before in her life! One of our hiring supervisors told me recently about a guy who came in and asked for an application, then sat down in the lobby and filled it out. He brought it back to her 45 minutes later (our application is NOT that complicated) and asked her "do you have to know how to use computers to work as a bank teller?" When she said yes, he said "great, I just spent an hour filling this out for nothing!", tore up the application, and stomped out. Wouldn't you notice the fact that all tellers have computers in their windows when you walked into the bank to start with?

When it comes to the applicant actually showing up for the interview, how they are dressed can often be a huge red flag for me. If they are dressed in a nice suit but it looks like they picked it up off the floor and they reek of sweat or stale booze, then the odds are I'm not going to consider them. Or if they come in for an interview at a bank wearing sweats and flipflops, same deal. If they are already here, I'll probably go ahead and interview them, but I will also mention to them that if they are serious about wanting a job, they need to find some more appropriate clothes to wear to the interview.

Some of our hiring supervisors are real sticklers for things like the candidate making eye contact, although I'm not as picky about that because I know that can be a sign of nervousness and I have trouble making eye contact with people I don't know sometimes, as well. One of the best employees I've ever hired looked over my left shoulder during the entire interview but sufficiently impressed me enough otherwise I didn't have any problem overlooking the lack of eye contact.

FunHRBanker, I agree with you about the "dead fish" handshake! I hate it when people assume that a woman is going to shake hands like a wimp so they just barely grasp the tips of my fingers. I have a very firm handshake myself and I appreciate it in others also.

Most of our locations are in smaller communities where there isn't a really strong pool of applicants to choose from. While I discourage the supervisors from subscribing to the "warm body" theory of hiring, sometimes they pretty much have to interview anybody who applies just in case there's a diamond in the rough out there.