TimesJobs decodes reasons for rejection during job interviews

TimesJobs decodes reasons for rejection during job interviews

By TimesJobs.com on Jul 4, 2016

Nearly 70% candidates said they have been rejected in job interviews at some point in their career. Of these 60% says they were rejected because of non-verbal reasons, reveals the latest survey by TimesJobs.

TimesJobs.com Bureau 

About 70% candidates claimed that they have been rejected at a job interview at some point in their career, reveals a recent TimesJobs study. More than half of the candidates have faced rejection at job interviews at least five times in their career so far.

The background

Nearly 40% candidates have given atleast 10-20 interviews in their career, while 30% said they have appeared in around 5-10 interviews. The experience break-up revealed that candidates with 0-2 years of experience have given 5-10 interviews and those with 2-10 years of experience have given 10-20 interviews.

The reason

The study found that verbal and non-verbal elements both contribute to the failure of a candidate during a job interview. However, non-verbal elements holds more significance to a recruiter than verbal components.

About 60% of the candidates have attributed their failure in job interviews to non-verbal elements. Of these 40% said that they have been told by the recruiter that they seem disinterested during the interview, 32% said they were rejected because they were late, while 30% said making no eye contact with the recruiter during the interview led to their failure.

Nearly 25% candidates couldn’t get through the process because they weren’t dressed properly and 10% said they were told that their weak handshake and bad sitting posture made their interview a disaster.

Of the verbal factors, fumbling in a job interview was the most common reason for rejection in a job interview, as claimed by 45% of the surveyed employees. Nearly 30% said they talked too much during their interview and this backfired. About 25% said their lack of knowledge about the company caused their failure and for 15% the rejection came because of badmouthing about the previous employer.

The aim

TimesJobs surveyed nearly 700 job seekers to understand the common factors that lead to rejection in job interviews. The study aims to serves as a handy tool for the professionals across sectors to prepare well for job interviews. Rejection feels bad and is particularly annoying when you know you know will perform well in the job. It helps if you know what you are doing wrong. It is time to fix the loopholes and grab that dream job!

What makes you fumble in a job interview?

Posted by TimesJobs.com on Jul 7, 2016

For nearly 45% candidates fumbling was the key reason for getting rejected in a job interview, according to a survey by TimesJobs. We explore some possible reasons which makes a candidate fumble in a job interview.

Apeksha Kaushik, TimesJobs.com

While job interviews are often considered intimidating and harrowing experiences, it gives the opportunity for an incumbent to stand out and shine such that it lands one with a plum opportunity. Regardless of how confident you may feel about yourself, there’s always a chance of a slip between the cup and the lip which in this case can very nearly cost you the job. Sofia Joseph, HR head, Cloudnine Group of Hospital shares some reasons which lead to candidates fumbling in a job interview: 

Not doing the relevant homework/research of the company: Interviewers always expect the incumbents to ideally research on the company they show interest in. In cases where the interviewee has missed this important step, it is best to be upfront about it rather than give vague incorrect statements based on hearsay which in retrospect might be more detrimental than helpful.

Showing up late: Despite our best efforts most often than not the city traffic (if not other factors) could throw a spanner in the works at a crucial event such as arriving for an interview in time.

Drawing a blank: Interviews undoubtedly can be stress inducing for some and the degree of nervousness can translate and affect quality of responses by the incumbent. Drawing a blank can happen to the best of interviewees and can give the impression of being unaware or clueless which in reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

Be aware of the facts; don’t be over confident: There is a high probability that many candidates try to be over confident and tend to give out wrong data and information which is countered by the right one. In an attempt to be overly aware and knowledgeable about data or facts brought up in an interview, one might end up speaking more than required or provide wrong facts. If countered the most ideal approach in this scenario is to politely apologize for the error and admit being misinformed.

Blame games: Nothing could be more unwelcoming than listening to an interviewee make excuses for performance/behavior and blame it on co-workers/boss in an attempt to showcase victimization. Also, when an interviewee does so they are irregularities in the statement which are detrimental to their chances of getting selected for the job.