10 Candidate Mistakes That Instantly Destroy Their Job Chances

23 Feb 10 Candidate Mistakes That Instantly Destroy Their Job Chances

Every hiring manager and HR professional has seen this, and they know it to be true. It’s this: Some job candidates do things that simply destroy all chance of you ever hiring them.

CareerBuilder knows this too, and that’s why they do surveys every year on the many things that people do to ruin their chances for a job. Some of these surveys can start to sound redundant after a few years, but this one always seems to get a lot of attention: the 10 Interview Mistakes That Will Instantly Destroy Your Job Chances.

As the press release on the survey by CareerBuilder notes, “Even if you are the best candidate for the job, you can see a potential offer go up in smoke by making avoidable candidate mistakes.”

10 instant candidate mistakes

That’s sad but true, so here are the 10 instant deal breakers for job candidates, according to employers surveyed by CareerBuilder:

1. Candidate is caught lying about something: 71 percent;
2. Candidate answers a cell phone or texts during the interview: 67 percent;
3. Candidate appears arrogant or entitled: 59 percent;
4. Candidate appears to have a lack of accountability: 52 percent;
5. Candidate swears: 51 percent;
6. Candidate dresses inappropriately: 50 percent;
7. Candidate talks negatively about current or previous employers: 48 percent;
8. Candidate knows nothing about the job or company: 45 percent;
9. Candidate has unprofessional body language: 43 percent; and,
10. Candidate knows nothing about the industry or competitors: 35 percent.