The head of HR called me to let me know they were not moving forward with my candidate for their open position.
I was floored.
Up to this point, both the client and I had high hopes for the woman on the interview.
She had the right skills and a great personality.
This was the “rubber stamp” interview…or so we thought.
When I prepare someone for an interview, I have a whole list of things I discuss from the obvious to the almost ridiculous:
- Don’t arrive late
- Don’t wear strong perfume or cologne
- Do bring copies of your resume
- Do have a firm handshake and look people in their eyes
But, when the client told me why they were not pursuing this candidate I thought: Well, I would never have prepped the person for this scenario.
The reason they were not moving forward was due in large part to the fact that all during the interview the woman keep leaning over to the left.
The client was not sure how to ask what was going on but ultimately had to ask. “Are you OK? I notice you keep tipping back and forth to your right side. “
The woman replied, “I am fine. I just want to make sure my bird keeps quiet so I keep leaning over to feed it.”
Interview Tip # 1– Under most circumstances, you should not bring a bird to an interview.
The fact was that the bird was ill and the woman did not want to leave it home alone.
Interview Tip #2– It is OK to reschedule an interview
Being reminded of this story got the InspiHER Tech office talking.
Bank Robber & Lottery Winner
I once had a candidate who did not show up for an interview. Why not? He was in jail after being caught robbing banks! I had another who was a no-show and never returned my calls. Months later I found out she had won the lottery, broke off her engagement, sold her house and moved to Washington D.C.
There are so many reasons why interviews fail. There are also interesting reasons why you may never get an interview in the first place.
Final Interview Tip: If you are running late, don’t arrive at your interview with a fresh cup of Starbucks, unless you bring some for everyone.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
We are dedicating the rest of this blog to the DON’Ts of resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Enjoy!
LinkedIn is for professional networking. Even if you aren’t looking for a job, this isn’t the place to display your latest party with the girls or trip to the beach.
Resume No-No’s
Here we have a resume summary gone very wrong:
Not your run-of-the-mill references:
Took some time off? Even if all you did was learn how to bake bread, call it a sabbatical and keep the particulars to yourself.
