What Are Some Of The Biggest Red Flags In An Interviewee? originally appeared on Quora The best answer to any question.
Answer by Dan Holliday, Corporate Recruiter, on Quora.
I hate to be slavish to rules. When I interview, there's this spidey sense that goes off when things don't seem right. I get lots of attempts at "bait and switch" where subvendors will submit a candidate who will phone screen (under the name of another person), then they'll send that "B-player" in for the assignment. So, you listen. But that's a separate issue.
Because I work in the contract space and not the perm-placement space, I need a different caliber of candidate than a perm placement. For starters, clients are actually willing to take a different set of risks for perm placement. If the candidate is perceived to be growable and moldable but not possessing all of the technical skills, many clients will hire that individual just because she/he brings the necessary ingredients to the table.
On the other hand, for the contract space, they want someone who needs about 15 minutes of onboarding. A contractor usually means that some project or initiative is short in productivity and they need to shore-up the labor force to beef up the team to guarantee a timely completion. That means the contractor has to have a combination of really strong skills.
Professional Assertiveness -- I'm not talking "chip on their shoulder", but a boldness and expressiveness that comes across clearly when they communicate. How did they challenge assumptions? How did they identify a flaw in the system and work to overcome it? How did they build teams and partnerships on the job? Even a C# Developer or Test Automation Engineer (stereotypically the "introverts" of the IT world) must demonstrate the ability to hold an opinion and defend it. A lot of STAR Technique I employ in interviewing box the candidate in with unexpected questions NOT about their successes but their failures.
Too Many Polished Answers -- too many of these and all sorts of alarms go off in my head. How many? I don't know. Can't tell you. But I have a collection of questions that few people can be prepared for. If you are, then that's not a knock-out blow, but it does worry me. When I ask, "Tell me about your worst failure on a job, where you thought you were gonna get fired. Explain the outcome." And you have some smarmy, slick answer, I start to worry. Likewise, if you say, "Oh, I've never done that." Then (a) you aren't bold enough, bold people take risks and sometimes those risks backfire and (b) you're probably lying anyway. We've all been called into the bosses office for screwing up royally.
Lack of Confidence In Your Field -- there's something about a person who is on the interview and cannot talk readily about their subject. Now, you might say, "Well, Dan. . . INTROVERTS!" But the only problem is that we live in the real world. Since I don't have access to a time-machine and a cloaking device to go back in time and watch your real-world productivity; since I cannot call your past employers (legally) and have your HR File sent to my office; since I cannot read your mind and really, honestly tell whether you're being honest or not; since I loathe Whiteboarding because it doesn't deliver honest results (IMHO), I'm only left with the STAR Interview Guide (as mentioned before) and my own intuition. Since contractors have to step into a (usually) in-flight project, they have to have a separate set of skills than a W2 employee -- thus I simply cannot waste time with people who don't have passion and confidence in their selected field. They might pass muster with me, but they'll never get the job.
Inability to Explain / Remember Employment History -- not because we all don't forget, but because, well, trepidation in this area is a red flag. "What do you mean you cannot remember where you worked two years ago?" It worries me. And if the lack of confidence continues on explaining the environment, then it gets worse. If Tommy Tonkatruck can -- with a gentle reminder -- say, "Oh. Yup. I was at EMC then. I totally forgot. So here's what the project was about. . . ." instead of stumbling past it, then something's wrong.
Lack of Tenure -- A good contractor is hard to find. Companies will do anything in their power to keep them. I know, I work with dozens of them, with disparate corporate culture. If you have one or two short-term assignments, that's normal. But if most or all of them are less than six months, sirens start going off.
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