In news that will come as no surprise to many employers, employment site, CareerOne.com.au today revealed its list of top 10 interview mistakes made by job hunters.
CareerOne.com.au spoke to employers and recruiters who offered up some of their worst interview experiences.
Angela Vithoulkas who owns the VIVO Café franchise in Sydney said that one candidate came in for an interview dressed in a clown costume.
“I felt like sticking a sign on my forehead saying ‘are you serious?’. It’s hard to take someone seriously when they’re dressed as a clown.”
Helen Olivier, of The Olivier Group said that there was a degree of desperation in the market so people overstate their skills and salary.
“Often people assume they are going to earn a lot more than market reality just because they are moving jobs. If you are head-hunted it doesn’t necessarily mean you are worth higher than market value.”
Top 10 mistakes made on a cover letter/resume
1. Spelling mistakes
2. Addressing your cover letter to the wrong person
3. Cover letter too generic and not addressing the desired role
4. Length! Candidates sending through pages and pages of information
5. Inputting information over 10 years old
6. Submitting a handwritten cover letter
7. Providing too much personal information.
8. Inventing careers and skills. Professional resume checkers will sniff this out.
9. Excluding contact details and gaps in job history
10. Using inappropriate email addresses
Biggest mistake: A 32 page application was received
“The cover letter is a candidate’s first impression. It shows the commitment to the job from the very early stages,” explains Gary Banks, ABT Recruitment.
Face-to-face interview mistakes reported by recruiters
1. Dressing inappropriately
2. Bringing in fast food during the interview and eating it while being interviewed
3. Turning up late or not turning up at all for the scheduled interview
4. Offering sexual advances/propositions
5. Sharing too much personal information. No need to tell us about your second job driving hookers around
6. Not showing enough or showing too much enthusiasm
7. Questioning the intentions of the recruiter and questioning the questions of the recruiter!
8. Behaving inappropriately – don’t pick your nose during an interview please
9. Turning up drunk
10. Threatening and physically abusing recruiters out of desperation for a job
One recruiter said a candidate told him of his criminal conviction including a physical demonstration of how he assaulted his wife.
