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Writer's pictureRachel Bereza

Bad Interviewers (Ahem, it might be YOU)

Updated: Mar 1, 2021



I post intermittently about Interviewing 101 on the REBL Co. social pages. The intent is to provide folks in need with advice on how to nail common interview questions. But oftentimes, there’s a factor interviewees cannot control no matter how much practice or mock interviews they complete -- a Bad Interviewer. Generally speaking, this is not the fault of the Bad Interviewer. As hiring managers, there is no formal instruction on how to be a Good Interviewer. Typically, an HR representative hands the Interviewer a stack of pre-screened resumes and a list of questions to ask and leaves them in a conference room to make a somewhat arbitrary selection that can have a formidable business impact. The correlation is simple: Bad Interviewers are more likely to lead to Bad Hires; Good Interviewers are more likely to lead to Good Hires. If you or your business are struggling to make good hires, the candidates may be only part of the issue. You may be exhibiting symptoms of a Bad Interviewer (Who? Moi?! Yes, you.). Evaluate the following pitfalls of a Bad Interviewer and make corrections as needed:

  1. Mirroring. Bad Interviews hire people who look like, sound like, and think like themselves, stunting diversity at a minimum, and leading to long-term homogeneity and stagnation.

  2. Fatigue. After interviewing multiple underwhelming candidates, Bad Interviewers let their fatigue negatively cloud their outlook on Interviewees, disadvantaging those who come along later in the process.

  3. Asking limiting questions. Beware of closed-ended questions (yes/no), or questions that have no bearing on whether or not the person can do the job efficiently and effectively like, “Do you have reliable transportation?” if the job does not require it.

  4. Listening for the “right” answer. Many Bad Interviewers have an answer they want to hear and tune out anything that does not fit the mold. When a Bad Interviewer is not actively listening, they miss out on learning from others as well and missing unique opportunities.

  5. Poor body language and facial expressions. Crossed arms, checking a cell phone, poor eye contact, harsh expressions and frowns can paralyze an Interviewee who could potentially be a great candidate. This is exacerbated in our current state of virtual interviews where the human element is even more disconnected.

  6. Arrogance. Thinking “I don’t have time for this,” setting unrealistic expectations, and opening interviews with statements like, “I will cut off this interview of in a half an hour no matter what.” Not only is this type of behavior off-putting to the Interviewee, it casts a shadow over the interview and adds unnecessary negative energy.

  7. Attitude of disqualification. Traditionally, Bad Interviewers interview with a lens of disqualification rather than discovering the potential in a candidate. This attitude can make a Bad Interviewer pass over a true diamond in the rough.

  8. Hyper-focused on education, experience, or training. Poorly developed job descriptions may include preferences that don’t correspond with the Interviewees ability to do the job well. Bad Interviewers become too focused on these preferences and immediately disqualify Interviewees without thinking creatively about their potential.

  9. Insecurity. Bad Interviewers hire people who they perceive as non-threatening to their position, eliminating the possibility of raising the bar, motivation, and healthy competition.

  10. Inexperience. Bad Interviewers do not practice their interviewing skills and use their interviews to test unproven interview strategies.

According to a CareerBuilder survey from 2017, “companies lost an average of $14,900 on every bad hire in the last year, and it's a common mistake — nearly three in four employers (74 percent) say they've hired the wrong person for a position.” (Source: http://press.careerbuilder.com/2017-12-07-Nearly-Three-in-Four-Employers-Affected-by-a-Bad-Hire-According-to-a-Recent-CareerBuilder-Survey) In our current economic snapshot, this is a costly and potentially fatal consequence. REBL Co. can help your business train hiring managers to flip these pitfalls, be Good Interviewers and in turn, help ensure that the hires you make are Good Hires. Let’s get started developing intrepid nonprofit solutions together, today.



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