Professionals working in human resources at top companies have revealed the details that make them instantly reject a candidate, and this goes beyond typos on resumes.
Several recruiters gathered on Reddit to list the strange interview experiences they’ve had, including job seekers actively using artificial intelligence like ChaatGPT to answer questions.
Others cited poor hygiene, distinctive body odor, and boasting about drinking during nights out as undesirable traits.
Recruiters also rejected candidates who brought their parents to interviews because they showed a lack of independence.
It was also previously found that a third of recruiters rejected candidates after looking at their social media profiles, despite the act being frowned upon.
Professionals working in Human Resources at major companies have revealed the details that make them instantly reject a candidate
One shared a “wild” experience with someone using AI.
“I did a video interview with a lady who, after a few questions, made it painfully obvious that she was simply entering the questions into ChatGPT and reading the answers,” he said.
‘Their answers were incoherent essays that defined a key word in the question rather than answering it. I asked her what achievement she was most proud of and she said, “sSome things that people tend to feel a sense of accomplishment about include…”
“This told me that she either knew nothing about the position or had so little confidence in her abilities that she would need to be shadowed constantly rather than eventually being able to work independently. Both are an instant ‘no.’
In addition to not using AI to answer questions, proper etiquette during Zoom interviews is also important.
‘My boss once made someone show up to a Zoom interview shirtless. How the hell do you get by in life if you’re the kind of person who goes shirtless to an interview? asked a man.
Others shared that a strong odor, whether positive or negative, also affected their hiring decisions.
“If you suck from the other side of the table, it’s an instant ‘no’ from me,” one said.
‘A woman had an extremely strong rose perfume. It hit like a ton of bricks when you were five feet away from it. “I couldn’t concentrate on the interview,” another shared.
While a boss revealed an incident that made her reject an intern.
“A young intern candidate came in, didn’t realize there was a desk behind a low wall where one of us heard how much partying, drugs and drinking he had done all weekend and pretended to be sick to get off work.” . she said.
Another shared that a candidate pulled a flask out of his briefcase and took a long sip during the interview.
“Any level of parental involvement in the interview, especially someone bringing their parents to the interview, is a no,” one recruiter said. ‘A parent calls to schedule or reschedule the interview? Approve. Does he bring the parents to the interview? Immediate pass.’
Several others shared relatively standard reasons why they reject candidates, such as empty resumes, not meeting minimum requirements, and not having the right to work or needing visa sponsorship.