One job candidate told her interviewer that if he wanted to get to heaven, he’d hire her. Another asked where the nearest bar was located. Then there’s the candidate who bragged about being in the local newspaper for allegedly stealing a treadmill from someone’s house. It’s that time of year again: CareerBuilder has released its annual list of the strangest interview mistakes hiring managers say they’ve witnessed while assessing job candidates, based on a survey conducted on its behalf late last year by Harris Poll among approximately 2,600 HR and hiring managers.
Some other examples of strange interview mistakes:
- Candidate ate a pizza he brought with him (and didn’t offer to share).
- The candidate asked to step away to call his wife to ask her if the starting salary was enough before he agreed to continue with the interview.
- Candidate invited interviewer to dinner afterwards.
- Candidate said her hair was perfect when asked why she should become part of the team.
- Candidate ate crumbs off the table.
- Candidate asked the interviewer why her “aura” didn’t like the candidate.
This year’s survey finds that half (51 percent) of employers say they know within the first five minutes of an interview whether a candidate is a good fit for an open position, virtually identical to the findings from last year’s survey (50 percent).
Read more