Decision-makers have serious and not-so-serious reasons for not hiring certain candidates
It can be tough to pinpoint why people don’t get certain jobs because in some cases, the reasons aren’t always obvious. We wanted to know some of the strange reasons HR professionals and managers passed on certain candidates. Because we wanted honest answers, no last names or company affiliations are used.
“We interviewed someone who kept telling jokes — like dad jokes, every time he had the chance. I will admit some were sort of funny and some were awful but just the idea of doing that. And he was actually a good candidate but I would have felt awful if I hired this guy and he would have made the lives of his coworkers awful”
– H.H., Chicago
“Just last month, we passed over a relatively qualified candidate because he practically ignored the female participants during a group interview. Of course, the men who were doing the interview didn’t see it this way but for the three women in attendance, there was a definite and deliberate choice by the applicant to avoid further conversation with the women at the table. I don’t even think he looked us in the eye most times.”
– Claire B., San Jose, California
“We interviewed a woman who came in with this gigantic purse with all these pockets and clasps and buckles. The purse was obnoxious but certainly not a reason to not call someone back for a second interview. At one point though, she put her purse on the table to grab a business card or something and the security tag that stores put on things so they’re not stolen was still on the purse. I have no way of knowing if she stole the person or not but if there’s a huge plastic stick on your purse and you don’t notice, even if you bought it legitimately, you’re probably not someone we want to hire.”
– Ann R., Chicago
“I have no problem with people who dye their hair or who have very creative, original haircuts but we recently interviewed a guy who was trying to cover his gray hair with some sort of cheap hair coloring. It was awful. A really smart guy too. And we had no problem with his age. But I don’t think any of us would have ever been able to take him seriously after what we witnessed. I actually told him about his hair a couple of weeks later when he called to follow up and he was totally open to it. We’re actually considering him for another position in our Wisconsin office.”
– Jennifer L., St. Paul, Minnesota
“Not going to lie to you. The last person I didn’t hire reminded me of a guy I used to play football with in high school who I absolutely couldn’t stand. Same voice — like nails on a chalkboard to me — same delivery, same overconfidence. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought that this guy had a son but it wasn’t him. I know it sounds petty but when a personality sticks with you for almost 30 years and you can’t stand that personality, it’s hard to invite a similar personality back into your life.”
– Michael U., Chicago
“There was a guy who we really liked but he had kept his briefcase open the entire time on the floor next to the desk and it was just a disaster. Like food wrappers and fruit. I wish I would have taken a picture. It was almost like we were being punked by this guy who was well dressed and well qualified but brought this disaster of a briefcase into the room and left it open to see how we would all react.”
– John V., Oak Brook, Illinois