Research by Fish4Jobs suggests that simple attention to appearance and etiquette often proves crucial.
One in four (26%) job applicants fail at interviews because of their appearance on the day, but most interview clangers can be avoided. One in five (19%) HR managers say they will lose interest in a candidate if they have sloppy appearance, regardless of their impressive CV.
Examples not to imitate
– The excited interview candidate who spat at the person interviewing when answering a question
– The woman who went to the washroom to check her appearance before an interview and walked into the interview room with toilet paper stuck to her shoes
– One shy job candidate went to the pub for a bit of Dutch courage and failed to impress by turning up drunk for a bus drivers job
– The job seeker who got his underwear stuck in a trouser zip, with his pants peeking through his fly all through the interview
It’s not only appearance which counts, 31% of HR managers say job seekers should spend time preparing for difficult interviews questions. Sometimes even the most basic questions like “tell me why you are the best person for the job” are answered badly.
Most job candidates (52%) admit they spend less than two hours researching the company, rehearsing for the interview and preparing answers to standard questions. By preparing responses to expected questions in advance, you can focus on the delivery of your answers, like being aware of your posture or body language during the interview.
The view from HR managers
1) Which of the following statements do you agree with? Most candidates spend lots of time on grooming but not enough time preparing answers to basic questions 31%
Candidates should prepare more for their interviews 26%
I immediately lose interest in a candidate if they have a sloppy appearance 19%
Most candidates fail at interviews because their interview performance does not live up to their CV 15%
Candidate presentation standards are getting higher and interviews tougher 9%
2) Image mistakes that result in poor candidate scoring at interview by HR managers
– Being late for the interview
– Dirty / unpolished shoes
– Badly wrinkled shirt
– Slouching in a seat
– Inappropriate attire for the interview
– Not speaking clearly and confidently
– Dirty finger nails
– Body odour / too much perfume
– Limp handshake
4 Responses
Personal Prejudices.
Along the same lines, i know one HR manager who instantly dismissed one job candidate because she (the candiate) was overweight! The manager in question quite openly admitted that the candidate had exactly the skills the company wanted, but she wouldn’t have given her a job on the basis that she had a weight problem. If the job had been front of house, maybe, just maybe there might have been a reason for making this assessment, but as it wasn’t it seems totally outrageous. Perhaps potential employers need to look to more scientific methods of selection, or maybe we just have to accept that where there are individuals involved, there will always be the chance that their own prejudices will influence decisions.
objective judgements – i don’t think
Given the frightening results of the survey you have mentioned makes me wonder whether there are any HR “professionals”. Surely none of the reasons for rejection mentioned have any bearing on the candidates ability to do the job, we should be completely relying on the evidence a candidate brings, not what they look like!!!! There are real race and sex issues here if we opened our eyes to see them!!!!
Somewhere in between
Some of those things speak volumes about an individuals organisational skills and ability to structure ones day. Badly wrinkled shirts, arriving late and I guess it comes down to how important such attributes are in the successful applicant.
But I agree with Ron Skea, limp handshakes and shoes which dont quite measure up to the military standard are difficult to use as a criteria to predict unsuitability within the role. (That is unless you are wanting to employee particularlry strong shoe polishers)
HR ‘professionalism’?
Oh dear….all that time spent trying to train line managers to conduct effective interviews and it turns out the professionals are confused and prejudiced.
They think candidates spend too much time on grooming but promptly lose interest in them if they have a ‘sloppy appearance’. I thought (or rather hoped) we had grown up a bit since the ‘messy shoes means messy approach to work’ days. Apparently not. Do these HR managers list all these criteria on their person specs?
Oh well, better go and brush my shoes then.