The Red Flags to Look Out for During the Interview Stage

When finding the right hire to join your team, it can be a stressful and time-consuming process. Because of this, its imperative that you look out for and identify any red flags early on, before its too late to prevent any more loss of time, money or team morale.  

When sifting through CVs and applications, you will already be looking out for the obvious indications such as relevance of experience to the role or formatting and grammatical errors. However, the interview stage is the where you will gain a clear impression if the candidate is the right fit for your team.

Interview Preparation

All candidates should attend an interview with basic knowledge of the company. They may even go on to link the company to themselves and explain why they would be a good addition to the team and what is it about the company that interests them the most. If you receive a generic response with not much enthusiasm or indication they have a clear understanding of the company, then this could be your first indication that they have not done their research into the role or the company.

 How they Present themselves

When they talk about themselves and their previous experience and roles make sure you pay attention to not only what the candidate is saying, but also how they are presenting themselves, how they speak about previous employers and employees etc. If they do not ask many questions themselves, this could also show a lack of interest or enthusiasm to the role. They should be just as interested in you as you are in them.

Though the candidate shouldn’t ramble on about their previous roles and responsibilities, they should be able to give you a few details about their capabilities and skill level. If they can’t explain how their experience makes them a fit for your team and the company, they may not have the confidence or ability to succeed in the role.

During the interview, you’ll want to ask how they handled a difficult situation at work and how they resolved it. When a candidate responds, you’ll want to have an ear out for how much responsibility they take for the incident. If it’s clear that the candidate has issues taking ownership of their work, ask yourself if they’re the right fit you’re looking for.

Consider asking them about how they have grown in their past role, as well as whether they’ve taken the initiative to learn new skills. Their answers to these questions can create picture as to why they have stopped growing in their role.