Top 10 List-Candidate Dumb Answers/Mistakes During Interviews

Most of us take interviews quite seriously. Some don’t. Being that we talk to quite a few clients and we debrief quite a few candidates after their interviews, we have heard a lot of the “dumb” interview mistakes, but I’m sure we’ve not heard it all. I thought for this article we’d list a few of the “dumb” candidate answers or mistakes we’ve had the opportunity to witness, or hear about. We’ll list it like “Letterman’s top 10”. This is your opportunity. If you’ve heard something wild, let us know. If we get enough responses, we’ll print Volume 2 in the series. It could get quite humorous.


10. The candidate says he/she has great sales success and wonderful relationships, but lists only family members as references. This one probably didn’t make it to the interview. It only takes the question to the reference, “Well, how do you know the candidate?” It’s a tossup whether Uncle or Brother is the most common answer!

9. The candidate has been through 2 key face to face interviews and it’s down to 1 of 2 possibilities. There is a key person in the company that must conduct the final interview. Timing is critical. The candidate decides to schedule a vacation where he/she will be unavailable for a week. What’s your thought? Good idea or not?

8. The candidate shows up to the interview in a leisure suit…Didn’t those go out of style in the 70’s?

7. Here’s a story told to us by a client: He had the candidate on the phone for a first screening and all had gone well. Then at the end he said, “I don’t really want to relocate. I just thought it was a great opportunity to take my wife on a nice trip.”

6. The interview has been all set up. The recruiter gave instructions, directions, and the cell phone number of the interviewer for tomorrow’s interview. At 3 AM, the candidate calls the interviewer and indicates that he can’t make it to the interview tomorrow because he is drunk. This one rates a big, “Duh?”

5. Showing up late…This is a classic blunder, but it needs to be discussed again. If a candidate can’t show up on time for an interview, how in the world would a supervisor be able to believe that he/she could show up for work on time? Or, how about the candidate that doesn’t show up at all? Do you think there will be a second chance?

4. The position requires relocation to somewhere, let’s say Iowa. The candidate knows this but is asked in the face to face interview if he/she is okay with that? The answer…Well, I’ll have to convince my spouse, but I’m okay with it. Maybe it would be a good idea to discuss this with your spouse first?

3. During the interview, this question is asked, “What are the key responsibilities of the job?” That question sounds simple enough, however, if the candidate waits until the interview, then it’s obvious that no preparation has been done before coming to the interview.

2. Most of us are just vain enough about our appearance that we present well when meeting someone new, but how about this comment from a hiring manager, “I once had a candidate that had such bad breath, that I slid my chair all the way back to the wall and put my notepad on my lap to take notes.” Is that called a distraction?

1. This one is a classic, but many candidates never really understand the impact. The last question of the interview is asked, “Do you have any questions?” The interviewee asks, “Yes, what does this job pay?” Suddenly the interviewer becomes concerned that money may be the only reason for the candidate to consider this job. It’s best to leave this question for once the company decides they like the candidate and is ready to extend an offer.

While this “top ten” list is somewhat humorous, it is also serious. Believe us, the situations covered in this list is a serious, “do not let this happen to you” list. Do you have more to add to the list? We’d love to hear from you. You can disagree with any of these, however, we can also likely point you to examples of each one of these situations causing that candidate to not get that job offer. Want to know what you can say? Then let’s talk before you interview. We can help avoid the blunder.