The ten top things Candidates Love and Hate

The Top-10 Things Candidates Hate ( these are provided by an unknown source)

10. Having no clue whom they are meeting with for an interview, how long they will interview for, and arriving somewhere on time in order to wait alone in a lobby, room, or restaurant (and feeling very conspicuous when they don't need a job!) while looking at their watch (every five seconds) for the late interviewer.

9. Taking a personal day off on one, two, or three occasions to interview at XYZ Company, only to fall into the Black Hole of No Feedback and never to be spoken to again. Add that their wife continues to harp on the fact that they missed Johnny's recital by taking personal days to go interview for a new job when "You have a perfectly acceptable one right now." This is when your picture goes up on the dart board in their rec room.

8. Learning after the fact that someone on the interview team thought that their resume showed too many positions when they actually worked for the same company for 10 years, but it changed names 10 times. This is the reality of never being able to address an objection, real or not, that comes up during the process that can be addressed.

7. Navigating a ridiculous, invasive online application that does not save after each field, crashes unexpectedly, is hard to complete thoroughly, and yet is viewed as a negative if it is incomplete.

6. Walking in to an interview with a person more junior than themselves to discover that said person is reading the resume for the first time and is asking impossibly inane questions such as, "So, why do you need a job with our company?" when they were recruited to the interview.

5. Feeling like they really are the right person for the job but somehow can't get an interview. Whether that is because of a poor resume, undeveloped communications skills, or not connecting at the right level.

4. Going through a more thorough interview process than a candidate for the Supreme Court. I am ashamed to admit this, but I have actually been involved in an interview process that has lasted longer than one year

3. Enduring a background check that is conducted by hourly workers on a different continent who raise red flags on your background because your university verified your degree as a B.S. in Sociology and Anthropology instead of a B.S. in Women's Studies (which is no longer offered). Did I mention that the candidate has already resigned, given their start date, and had their goodbye party?

2. Enduring a formal interview process, complete with a one-hour phone screen with HR, a call with a junior team member asking basic questions, and then getting the green light to attend a cattle call. All of this when the candidate has only agreed to being "open to talking" and is NOT looking for a job. In fact, they really only signed up to have a beer with a career-level counterpart on the inside.

1. The number-one pet peeve of all candidates is talking to misinformed, condescending, and unoriginal interviewers who answer all questions with, "Because that's the way we do it here and we cannot do it differently." Or who answer every question with "I don't know."

We are all guilty of a few spineless process moments that cause our candidates pain and suffering. So what do they like? What wins every time with a candidate?

The Top-10 Things Candidates Love

10. Talking to someone who is knowledgeable about their background, their company, what their potential career path may be, and who can have an unbiased conversation about options that exist.

9. Entering an interview process that is transparent.

8. Getting a courtesy telephone call to the effect of, "What we have is no for now, not forever. We value your time and are sorry about the outcome."

7. Having someone help them go through the online application process or be on hand and be knowledgeable about the system.

6. Getting a list of information that is needed to complete the online application such as W2s, phone numbers, references, and yes, even documentation to present in lieu of a real, live company that has since closed (Enron).

5. Having an honest conversation about objections to their history and being allowed to counter.

4. Getting help on resigning and also being granted some flexibility on start dates if they have real plans to travel, have surgeries, or a need to keep a schedule of their former employer.

3. Being asked for feedback on the questions asked during the interview process or what they felt were high and low points of the interaction. Also, having the chance to weigh in on the overall candidate experience.

2. Having flexibility in the process and a chance for their questions to be answered versus being interrogated without any real dialogue about their concerns.

1. Being treated with respect at every level regardless of whether they are the right candidate.

Why we do and do not Ask Questions

John Miller author of QBQ put togethet a list of why we do and donot ask questions.  I found this list to be an eye opener so here you are.

Asking questions is a skill required by people in all
roles, job functions, and professions.

Why exactly do we ask questions? Well, here are 15 reasons to do so!

1.  To acquire knowledge

2.  To eliminate confusion

3.  To cause someone else to feel special/important

4.  To guide a conversation in the direction we want it to go

5.  To demonstrate humility to another

6.  To enable a person to discover answers for themselves

7.              To gain empathy through better understanding another's view

8.              To influence/alter someone else's opinion/view

9.              To begin a relationship

10.         To strengthen a relationship

11.         To humbly show we have knowledge on a specific topic

12.         To stimulate creativity and idea generation

13.         To gain a person's attention

14.         To solve a problem

15.         To reach agreement or to "agree to disagree" with clarity 

But wait! To understand why we DO ask questions, it's good to explore the reasons why we DO NOT ask questions. Here are six:

1.              To find a culprit

2.              To embarrass and shame

3.              To appear superior

4.              To create fear

5.              To manipulate

6.              To play the victim, as in, "Why is this happening to
me?" (See QBQ! book)

To get better clarity on these I suggest you read John Miller's book.

"QBQ" 

10 Common Mistakes People Make at Job Interviews

compliled by Dave Johnson CBS Money Watch

You can never be too prepared for a job interview -- you never know what minor element of your personality or presentation can make or break your chances. But while you may be polished to a luster for the usual interview questions and your resume is gleaming, what about some of the other intangibles involved in getting hired?

After all, for better or for worse about a third of hiring managers assess candidates and make a hiring decision within the first 90 seconds. Fair? Of course not. But it does mean that its critical to control those elements that aren't just about your previous job performance.

Recently, education research firm Classes and Careers published an interesting infographic that rolls up a slew of less obvious things that influence the hiring process.

For starters, there are a number of nonverbal cues that hiring managers consider mistakes that can cost you the job. The most egregious ones? Failure to make eye contact is at the top of the list. Other deal-breakers include failing to smile, bad posture and fidgeting.

In addition, your choice of clothing is important. More than half of hiring managers say that your choice of clothes can be the deciding factor when choosing among similar candidates. In particular, it can be a liability to dress too fashionably or trendy.

According to Classes and Careers, here are the 10 most common mistakes people make at job interviews:

10. Over-explaining why you lost your last job

9. Conveying that you're not over having lost your last job

8. Lacking humor, warmth or personality

7. Not showing enthusiasm or interest in the job

6. Inadequate research about the position or company

5. Concentrating on what you want rather than what the company needs

4. Trying to be all things to everyone

3. Winging the interview

2. Failing to set yourself apart from other candidates

1. Not asking for the job