Top 5 things not to say in an interview!
I have been discussing interview processes with a couple of my business associates and although we all agree that it’s a taunting task finding talented level headed employees, we had a good laugh looking at the lighter side of our interview encounters. I have taken the liberty to compile a short list of the worst things we have been told in interviews.
1. Does your company actually make money?
2. I don’t think you business plan is going to work.
3. You have pretty eyes.
4. Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to google your company yet.
5. I hope your resume is more impressive than mine.
The process of elimination can be such a challenge 
So, although we would like to believe that we have heard it all, leave a comment on my blog – we would love to hear your interview encounters and mishaps!
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03/09/2007 at 8:09 am
“I speak English just as good like I speak Afrikaans.”
03/09/2007 at 8:13 am
LOL. Well yes that will add the South African context, real lekke!!!
04/09/2007 at 9:46 pm
I don’t really see what’s so funny about some of these. Nobody wants to work for a crappy company. If you want to hire good staff (who can probably get work at a lot of places) it’s your job to convince that guy he wants to work for you just as much as it’s his job to convince you you want him to work for you. Same goes for girls. Another point, I actually like to make some jokes during an interview. It breaks the tension. The days of the “boss” type person in a company feeling so important are over. In hacker culture we believe all people are equal; a manager just performs a different job to a programmer, for example. There should be respect both ways, not just one way.
05/09/2007 at 8:32 am
Charl this is a shocking comment from you.
Firstly, the topic was not whether we were justifying and making it attractive for prospective employees to come work for our companies, we were merely listing the top 5 blunders from our experiences during interviews.
You need a sense of humour and to think further than hacker culture, dear. Some of us need “normal people” like marketers, secretaries, accountants and general managers.
As a business owner I can tell you nobody wants bad or untalented staff, it costs money employing them!
I think every good entrepreneur with half a brain will try their very best to recruit and retain the most talented staff.
Unfortunately in the search/hunt for talent, you interview the “not so good ones” too. So after all your motivation and excitement justifying why a potential recruit should come work for your innovative company with a brand spanking new concept – it’s frustrating yet amusing getting such thoughtless response.
1. Would I be interviewing you if my company had no money?
2. Would I be in business if my company had no money?
3. If my business concept didn’t or wasn’t going to work would I invest heavily in it?
4. If my business concept wasn’t going to work – why would you want the job?
5. If you haven’t researched my company prior to interview – you are likely to be unprofessional and unprepared and I wouldn’t want to hire you in the first place.
And even after all of that there is still an interview etiquette in business.
And the comment about “the same goes for girls” is disturbing. The last time I checked equal opportunity existed and girls had brains too.
05/09/2007 at 11:32 pm
Hi Bev,
Ok, I think you misunderstood my comment a little (actually a lot). Let me try to clarify.
A lot of companies originally get funding from some place or the other. If the company is not sustainable it’s not a good idea to work for them. After the initial funding dries up, the company goes down the drain. And you need to find another job, which sucks. Remember, lots of people play with others’ money. It does not need to be their own.
The issue about hacker culture is not specific to hackers but to people in general. It’s something that comes out of our culture which I hope will catch popularity in the wider community. So therefore this has nothing really to do with us specifically.
I do agree with some of your other points though.
However, I don’t understand why my comment about “the same goes for girls” is disturbing. I used a guy in my example. I could have used a girl too so to not sound sexist I added a note that the same counts for girls. What exactly is the problem???
So honestly I find your reply a bit confusing now. :S
Regards,
Charl
05/09/2007 at 11:47 pm
LOL, I think we having a classic case of geek speak and marketer misinterpretation.
Originally I posted just for the fun or humour of it not for a massive debate so I was surprised at the “seriousness” of your comment.
I don’t disagree with you at all. In actual fact you have extremely valid points and I follow most of the same practices when taking on work and when hiring.
A company must make it worth an employees while to work there – it has to offer security and it must know an employees worth.
Luckily for the talented hard working individual out there – there is a talent struggle in our country (according to Entrepreneur Magazine’s latest edition). The power is now in the employees lap and companies now have to play finders keepers!
06/09/2007 at 12:03 am
Oh I see, ok. I guess my seriousness came from the fact that I myself would ask some of the questions on your list so probably felt a little offended.
Skill shortage is often cited as the #1 show stopper for the country’s economy. Sure one can blame all kinds of reasons and the government etc. but I think most people are missing soft skills, work ethics, professionalism, etc. There are some brilliant people in our country (actually a lot). They would be able to get far but they are unable to function in a work environment. Procrastination, lack of social/team/networking skills, etc. are plaguing a lot of people. Then there’s company politics that can often destroy good working relationships. Greed, corruption, the list goes on and on.
So if you ask me the problem lies deeper.
Ok yeah this “joke” post indeed ended up in a heated debate.
06/09/2007 at 4:22 pm
Jeez please don’t take my humble offerings the wrong way guys. Try these two examples
Woman interviewing for a position as a medical rep a few years ago, when asked why she thought she was qualified for the position she replied “oh don’t tell me we have to go through all this shit, I expected more from this company” I terminated the interview there and then.
A young man with a B com degree same question replied
” I just need a job and this one looked a good place to start”
08/09/2007 at 9:39 am
Tresblue, Thanks for that contribution! Keep these coming I can use them in my course!
I do run “Interview Skills 101″, and I’m highly successful in the candidates I coach, please refer all poor applicants to be. I might just turn this into a lucrative business!