Landing an interview is an accomplishment in and of itself and you should be proud when you manage to do so. The company has shown interest in you, and wants to meet face to face to ascertain if you are indeed a good fit for them. This is also an opportunity to find out if the company is right for you too, but that won’t matter if you do any of the 4 things listed below, which recruiters have highlighted as reasons for immediate rejection.
Coming to an interview unprepared
You’ve got the introductions out of the way, you sit down opposite your interviewer, and they ask “So, what do you know about our company?” Don’t pretend this was unexpected, 9 times out of 10 a recruiter will somehow want to assess what research you have done in the lead up to an interview. It shows that you are taking the process seriously, and have an actual interest in both the role, and the company. So, if your answer bears any resemblance to “Well, not much actually…” you might as well get up out of the chair, thank the interviewer for their time, and show yourself the door.
Showing a lack of interest in the role
Recruiters want to hire people that are interested in the specific role on offer, and are enthusiastic about the work it entails. Fabricating interest and enthusiasm in your cover letter to land an interview is one thing, but once you get in front of a recruiter, the jig is up! They will be able to tell immediately if you are disinterested, or lack enthusiasm, as these are things that can’t easily be falsified in person. So, do yourself a favour, don’t apply for positions that you aren’t interested in, a recruiter will deduce this and you’ll be wasting both your time, and theirs.
Lacking in confidence & an inability to hold a conversation
A lot can be deduced from a person’s body language, eye contact, and even handshake. If you arrive for an interview only to introduce yourself to the recruiter with hunched over posture, a lack of direct eye contact, and a clammy, or flaccid handshake, then you’re in trouble. All these indicate a lack of confidence on your part, and confidence is an attribute that all employers want in potential employees. If you also struggle to hold a conversation with the interviewer for this same reason, and are unable to engage in the back and forth required for the situation, it is highly unlikely that you will land the role in question.
Lying about past experience
Just as with fake enthusiasm, you may have successfully managed to land an interview by upgrading the experience section on your CV with some small untruths, or maybe you just flat out lied about certain things, but when you are in front of an interviewer, there will be nowhere to hide. Keeping up with the lies you have weaved will be difficult and you are likely to trip up, something which a recruiter will catch on to pretty quickly. Whether it’s a small white lie or not, if you can lie about one thing, what else may you have lied about? Falsifying any part of your job application is a big red flag, and will not only lose you the job, but may also get you blacklisted from ever applying to certain companies again, so please don’t do it.
Landing an interview can be hard work, but that doesn’t mean you should take unethical shortcuts to get you there, and once you have gotten the opportunity, try to make the most of it and avoid giving recruiters any reason to automatically reject you.
