Today if you are asked to come in for an interview than the odds are that you can do the job. So why are you not getting an offer? Perhaps this is why.
21 thoughts on “Perhaps this is why no one has hired you!”
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Excellent discussion…whether you agree or disagree is irrelevant…whether we believe that skills will overcome first impressions..irrelevant…whether we like it or not, those of us in the mid-senior positions and above are being hired for personality as well as skills.. so maybe now is not my time to regress to my ‘Basil Fawlty’ personality, or bring out the axe at the next board meeting…but I digresss! Great discussion, very true and brings us back to reality. I have an earing, do I wish to remove or keep it to get that job? Your choice…Marilyn Manson isn’t hiring at the moment, so I personally suggest removing the jewellery, wearing the club time and practicing the ‘firm handshake’ (for those of you into real philosolphy on this, you can find advice on Pink Floyd’s track Dogs…) ooops..my age shows..but still, dude your video hits the right spots!
Very good points…I preach to my classes that your first impression is a lasting impression, to look someone directly in the eye…ALSO, to introduce themselves with first and last name, put there hand out for the handshake first, engage, smile and compliment them about something!
One thing I noticed with your little video….you said OK way too many times, I stopped counting, and the hands in front of the face were very distracting.
Sorry for the OK’s I know I say it a lot. The hands are going to be hard to stop since my wife is Italian:)
Very good presentation. Solid ideas. However…I must agree with Chris. Your message sometimes gets lost in all the little verbal “tics”. I counted 12 “okays”, 7 “umms”, 3 “uhhs”, 4 “y’knows” and 6 hesitations (“and–and–and”, “is–is–is”, etc.). We all say stuff like this (myself included), because we’re not consciously aware that we’re saying them. I coach high school speech-and-debate, so I notice picky little things like this–and I point it out to my students all the time. We all do it because we start talking before we have the thoughts fully-formed in our minds. The trick is to learn to think, write and speak in complete sentences. It’s a life-long learning process.
Man you guys are tougher than my wife! I know I can’t write or speak, but I do have passion and I hope that comes through! I do thank you all for your comments.
It’s totally to the point. Thanks for your insights!
Hi Jeff,
Great video. I agree that the impression that you leave is really important in an interview. When faced with 2 similar candidates the hiring manager will interview both to see who he thinks will fit into the company best. Having said this I would say that depending on the job the body language should probably different and not always the same, E.g when interviewing candidates for sales the manager will probably try to determine who is the most enthusiastic and hungry, while when interviewing for a software implementation project the glint in the eye might not be as important.
If you could list one do and one don’t for a face 2 face interview, what would these be?
Best Regards
Simeon
While there are certainly interesting, valid points here, the irony is that the presentation (chest up, talking head “um um um”) is less than stellar, and really rather distractingly poor.
WOO HOO JEFF! Excellent video. (For the benefit of those reading, this) You and I have discussed our similar philosophies as recruiters (though you still are and I am now a career coach) and one thing we’ve talked about at length is the importance of candidate fit with the company. Each company has a personality and each individual has a personality – they’ve got to mesh. BIG factor in hiring decisions. A company will hire someone with almost everything because that person will mesh well, and pass over someone who does not and will not for whatever reason.
Skill isn’t a stand alone criterion – it’s only the starting point.
A story I heard a long time ago – so long I forget where and when – you read this in my ebook, but I put it here, again, for people reading this post..
There was a guy who was unemployed. He was an avid tennis player and played every day. He was quite the skilled sales fellow, and so he had several interviews lined up based on resumes he had submitted through ads. Unfortunately, because he loved tennis so much, he scheduled a game after his interview a few times. When his roommate suggested that he interview in attire other than his tennis clothes, the candidate said, “If they don’t like me for who I am, then I don’t want to work there.”
Yeah – well that is entirely true in some aspects (a long post in itself, lest I digress too much here), but what he said is arrogant and presumptive and egotistical. What he’s really saying is “I’m so good they just will have to take all aspects of me and so my skills overshadow my tennis interview attire.” BLEEEP!!! Right through the trap door.
When you go to a cocktail party, you might think it would be fun to jump on your host’s coffee table….but you wouldn’t. You might think it fun to lick your dessert plate….but you wouldn’t. You might be part of a book group that agrees to read a particular book, and you don’t want to read it….but you would.
He’s missed the unwritten conventional rules, if you will. That’s the one that says “on an interview, a person is expected to dress professionally and present themselves well.”
So it IS about personality. It IS about body language. It IS about personality because all these things are part of the big picture. Just like your skills are.
To Laura’s point….. the good news is that this was an online informational (informal) video and not a job interview. What irony were you referring to??? Geeeeesh! Jeff, great video and it appears you got quite a few views and are generating comments and discussion which I am sure means your goals of the video are being accomplished. Well done. Am looking forward to more videos!
Jeff,
Probably the best short video on this crucial topic.
All I can say a fantastic idea presented to the group in a best possible way.
Keep us updating
Cheers
-Dev
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This is a very good video for job seekers. I would add one other thought, though. Employers are starting to learn that they can extend your interview into a “pre-employment test drive,” which is basically a situation where they can “try before they buy”…so to speak. So, if you’re a job applicant, make sure to say yes if the employer asks you to take a pre-employment temporary assignment with a service like http://www.TrialByHire.com or your local temp firm. Be flexible and willing to prove yourself to them. A firm handshake is good, but proving yourself “live”..on the job, may be the best way to get that long-term assignment you’re looking for!
This is good advice for a face-to-face interview, however in the “IT” world
95% of your initial interviews are via telephone. My question is, how can one demostrate their personality without sounding to personal or familiar?
Corporate culture has a lot to say about wardrobe. Some companies are know ti not accept a candidate if the DO come in with a coat and tie. It might be best to ask your contacts or recruiter what the culture is for wardrobe. They just might say business casual.
Nice idea. But in my experience not correct. Most times, given someone that has a 100% skills match but didn’t interview well vs someone who interviewed well but has a less than 100% skills match, they’ll go for 100% skills guy every time. Think about it – there’s less risk this way. Hiring managers will (and should) go for less risk over a nice tie/handshake/cologne/eye-contact.
Andrew,
It’s not as simple as you think and quite the opposite. Do you want to work with someone you can’t stand because they have 100% of the skill set you require or someone with 90% and is very likable and a better team player. I see it everyday who hiring managers hire and the reasons why they hire the people they do. Someone who just dresses right would have never gotten in the door. Obviously to get interviewed today your resume speaks volumes. If you the hiring manager can’t figure out the “risk” then you yourself are not to sharp. Hiring managers will know if they can do the job and if they are teachable. A personality is hard to change. People who interview poorly tend not to get hired. Now that is only my point of view of what I have seen over 10 years so perhaps you see more than me but I highly doubt it!
Hey Jeff,
Great video. I really think this is exactly why/how I landed my current job. I recently started work as a Global HR Planner for a computer game company in Tokyo. I have no previous real corporate HR experience. Previously (and on the side now) I was/am a professional comedian working for Japanese TV. However, I was lucky enough to get an interview with my current company’s president and got the job. He basically said he is gambling on me and based on my first quarterly review, it is paying off. I think the only reason I got the job was by showcasing who I am as a human and how I fit their corporate culture. But on paper, I never should have gotten this job.
Interesting video. Great information to pass on to my college students looking for employment.
Well Jeff,
Interesting article. I tend to get past the phone screening, but you should see the stunned look on people’s faces when I show up for the interview.
once again, i hand it to jeff (what a surprise! that’s why I love blogging with him)
I have always said “what you think is what you create” or “thought preceds action preceds results.”
I’ve talked about it mostly in respect to job searching in general – for instance, if you’re getting depressed with no results, you thought process is going to substantiate that as you continue to find reasons to not answer an ad or not go talk to some one at a job group, etc. It’s a downward spiral that you perpetuate.
that really ugly person jeff talks about that has “it” knows they have something to offer. they KNOW. Maybe they’ve long believed in themselves. Maybe they’ve done a ton of interview prep. But it’s self confidence that shines externally because of what they believe internally.
Closely tied to why someone gets interviews but no offers is lousy interviewing skills and lack of preparation. But that’s a whole ‘nother subject for another post.
I think I’ll parallel Jeff’s post here with my next blog post on Tuesday. (because I post Tuesdays and Thursdays)