Ten Reasons You Weren’t Hired

26 Apr Ten Reasons You Weren’t Hired

Original Spanish version published in Aptitus magazine (Peru) on January 14, 2015

1. You won’t get hired if you badmouth your previous employer or, even worse, if you say nasty things about your previous boss. If you are disloyal to those you used to work for, chances are you will also be disloyal to others.
2. If you tell a lie, no matter how small, or if any inaccurate or overblown information is found in your résumé, a prospective employer will immediately lose all trust in you. Just think, if you lie in your interview, what will happen if you are hired? And if you confuse dates or information, could you be making them up?
3. When you are asked, “What do you know about us?” if your answers show that you know little about the organization, or are unfamiliar with its products or services, the first thing the interviewer will feel is that you are not at all interested in the company or, worse yet, that you couldn’t be bothered to find out more about it. The company will wonder if you are lazy or careless, or if you made the any effort to prepare for this interview.
4. When ethics or values are discussed and your position on ethical issues is unclear, or you fail to take a firm stand on your values, you will definitely not get hired. Could it be that your ethics are elastic, or that values are not important to you?
5. If you cannot state clearly why you want to work for the organization interviewing you, or if the reason you give is vague or fuzzy (or purely financial), you definitely will not get hired. Companies want to hire people who are passionate about what they do and who consider their organization to be the first, most compelling, and a long-term option. If you are viewed as apathetic, the company will feel that nothing it does is exciting to you. If the interviewer does not see some twinkle in your eye, it is unlikely that you will be hired.
6. If you say you cannot speak English, justifying it by saying your school did not teach English, you will be showing them that you are not interested in further learning, and that is why you would not be hired
7. If you are asked what you read, and you answer that you don’t like to read, the interviewer will assume that you are incapable of delving further and deeper in search for answers to important questions about business and life. How could you solve problems if you do not value knowledge, or if you have no interest in seeking knowledge?
8. If you are asked about your flaws, areas of opportunity, or weaknesses, and you say you don’t have any –or don’t know what they are–, you definitely will not get hired. If you are incapable of self-examination, or so smug that you think you are perfect, you will never fit in with any team.
9. If you are asked about mistakes you have made, and instead of accepting your mistakes and speaking about what you learned from them, you justify or try to excuse them, the interviewer will doubt your maturity or your sincerity. All companies need to work with people who are able to admit their mistakes, take responsibility for their consequences, and above all, learn from them.
10. If you don’t know what your achievements have been or if you are unable to quantify them so that your contributions to outcomes are understood, the interviewer will find it hard to understand the actual value you are able to bring to the organization. And if you talk as if you achieved everything by yourself, the concern will be that you may not be capable of teamwork.

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