According to a new survey of nearly 500 human-resources professionals released by the U.S. Department of Labor, there are plenty of ways to derail a job interview and some of them may surprise you.
The basic don'ts: arriving late to an interview or trashing a previous employer. But some hiring managers say even experienced professionals have made other slip-ups.
Often, job candidates speak in a too-familiar way with hiring managers a major problem, according to 20% of survey respondents. Mary Willoughby, director of human resources at the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, N.Y., once interviewed someone who was so comfortable, he commented on a sty she had near her eye.
"My mind was made up at that point," she says. The candidate was not hired.
“当时我就做出了决定,” 玛丽说。那名应聘者没有得到职位。
For 67% of hiring managers who responded to the survey, dressing provocatively is a major deal breaker even more significant than having a typo in your application materials (58% found this to be an interview killer). Chantal Verbeek, head of enterprise talent at ING U.S. Financial Services, says she'll forgive a typo if the applicant's skills are extraordinary, but revealing or sloppy apparel equals an instant rejection.
From the Society for Human Resource Management survey of nearly 500 HR managers:
人力资源协会对近500名人力资源经理所做的调查还发现:
*30% of hiring managers will decide whether to hire you within 15 minutes.
* 30%的招聘经理将在15分钟内决定是否雇佣应聘者。
* 40% of hiring managers say a cellphone ringing in the middle of an interview is a "deal breaker".
*40%的招聘经理表示,如果在面试中应聘者的手机突然响起,那就“没得可谈”。
* 70% prefer job candidates to have unpaid internship experience directly related to their companies' work versus paid employment in an unrelated field.
* 39% say "chemistry" with a job applicant accounts for half of their hiring decision
*39%的招聘经理说,能否与应聘者产生“化学反应”在其招聘决策中占有一半的作用。
Job seekers have also been blasting HR managers with questions about benefits, vacation time and schedule flexibility much too soon in the interview process, according to the survey. (Thirty percent of hiring managers say it's okay for applicants to inquire about salary in post-interview follow-up conversations.) Some 39% of hiring managers surveyed said applicants shouldn't bring up salary at all unless the interviewer brings it up first.
"I've had candidates ask if they can work part-time from home right off the bat," Ms. Willoughby says. "Let's figure out if you're the right person for this job before we discuss how little you want to be in the office."
Shawn Desgrosellier, president of Vitality Group Executive Search, coaches job candidates to go into an interview with something anything in their hands. The step maintains focus. (He suggested a pen, a notepad or your résumé.) "It's just awkward going into an interview with nothing," he says.
一家猎头公司Vitality Group Executive Search的总裁肖恩·戴斯格罗斯勒建议应聘者参加面试时手上一定要拿点东西——随便什么都行,这样能让你保持专注。(他建议拿一支笔、一本笔记本或一份自己的简历)“两手空空走进面试地点会让人有些手足无措,”他说道。
And the formal thank-you letter after the interview? More than 60% of HR managers who responded say skipping the step is not a big deal. A brief email will suffice cards and balloons are all overboard.