How do you spot a bad candidate who excels in an interview?

Some candidates for engineering jobs do well in interviews, but in the end, they turn out to be… very bad elements. How to spot a bad candidate?

In addition to having an exceptional professional background, your most desirable candidate answered all the questions asked during the interview. Gifted, he was also cordial, responsive, and knows how to surprise. A priori, he is therefore qualified for the position! But how can you be sure? How do you distinguish a bad candidate from a good one? The Job in USA site warns us by listing 5 warning signs of a bad candidate.

1. Punctuality

Punctuality is the keyword in an interview. If a candidate is due for an interview and arrives late, they send a very negative signal by showing off as someone who cannot be relied on. He sports the image of a person who shows neither rigor nor respect. Its overall reliability could therefore be reduced to nothing in the eyes of recruiters.

Of course, this delay can be an exceptional case for a candidate who is usually on time, but it is difficult to believe that in the future this person will be serious and punctual if they have not demonstrated it. at a time as crucial as his job interview.

2. His enthusiasm for the job

Placing a candidate in a position that does not motivate them is negligence that can cost a business dearly. Of course, he can loudly express his desire to take over the job. Moreover, this person will not fail to state when speaking that he is motivated, enthusiastic about the idea of ​​starting. But how can you verify that she is really enthusiastic? Indeed, signs must be visible from the outside, through his body language or facial expressions, for example.

3. Problem in his references

Taking references is the recruiter’s way of checking the candidate’s skills. It also allows you to know if the candidate has not “oversold”. The idea here is to analyze these so-called references.

Spot a bad candidate

Does the candidate systematically mention his former bosses in his references? If he doesn’t, maybe he’s afraid of something. He hesitates to provide his references? If so, what is the reason? It’s by doing a little investigation behind these reasons that you might find out if this is a good or bad candidate.

4. His profile on social media

If the candidate has an impressive facade, social media can sometimes contain more revealing information about him. Does he denigrate a colleague or an employer on Facebook? Does he publicly engage in compromising and disturbing social media activity? These are the most revealing warning signs of a candidate that should above all be avoided.

5. The candidate is too self-centered

Of course, the interest of an interview lies above all in knowing the candidate and not his former colleagues for example. It is priori a good thing that he only talks about himself. We can therefore easily be led to appreciate seeing him give such a good opinion of him. If, however, we ask him to explain sensitive facts about his career and each time he blames his former colleagues or blames it on something else, then we are dealing with a candidate who has a problem. Too focused on himself and unable to take responsibility for his mistakes, he lacks a team spirit.

Leave a Reply