Three ‘Deal Breakers’ That Will Guarantee Someone Will Not Be Offered The Job, Number 3 Is Surprising!

You have taken one or a combination of psychometric tests such as personality questionnaire (e.g., Deloitte Business Chemistry; Crystal Knows, and Myers Briggs), a numerical test, a verbal reasoning test, inductive reasoning tests, or a variety of aptitude and attitude tests, great! Done and dusted!

However, for high-paying jobs, the organisation would be looking for other matches to assess whether you should be offered the job.

You may have prepared the perfect answers to all the anticipated competency questions and carefully prepared answers about your background and qualifications. Still, you will find that there are some ‘deal breakers’ that will guarantee that you will not be offered the job.

In other words, even if you are the perfect candidate in every other way, if you don’t demonstrate the following traits at interviews, you will unlikely to succeed.

1.    Your Motivation

You should show the interviewers that you really want the job. You need to show the recruiters your passion and enthusiasm.

Remember that the employer will be investing considerable time and money to get you up to speed while you settle into the job.

So, ensure you demonstrate your commitment not only by your answers to interview questions but also by the tone of your voice and your body language.

One way how you can clearly demonstrate your commitment is by the amount of research that you have undertaken before the interview.

• You might print out critical pages from the employer’s website and take these with you to the interview
• Obtain a copy of their brochure or catalogue of products and services and take these with you
• Obtain a copy of the accounts if available
• Find out at least one key piece of background information about the organisation and mention this at the interview

If you’re working into finance, then it would be surprising if you don’t have information about an employer’s accounts.

If you are into sales, then it would be astounding as well if you didn’t have some information about the company’s sales figures (if available) and their key products and services.

The key here is to demonstrate to the interviewer that you have taken the trouble to undertake this level of research ─ this will most definitely confirm your motivation for the job.

2.    Communication

You could be the best and brightest candidate interviewing for the job, but if you can’t communicate your ideas effectively, you will fail.

Excellent communication at interviews is not just about what to say but also about how to say it.

Speak with real passion and make sure that you also use effective eye contact and body language to get your message across.

Remember, good eye contact is also about listening. Demonstrate this by listening carefully to the questions being asked. Many interviewers complain that candidates don’t listen to the question or don’t answer the question.

If you are unsure about what is required, ask the interviewer to repeat the question.

Use my B-A-C-A-R technique to describe your career achievements. Answering interview questions using the B-A-C-A-R framework will ensure that you communicate in a structured and clear way.

Most interviewers will assume that if you answer their questions in such a structured way, then this approach will also follow through into your everyday working practices.

3.    Empathy

Yes, empathy. While it is important to be yourself at job interviews, you need to be able to read the personalities and characters of your interviewers. Surprised?

Try to adopt an appropriate tone and ensure that the interviewers can feel that you will fit into the company culture.

Meanwhile, an organisation’s culture or ‘personality’ can be conservative, radical, relaxed, inclusive, globally-minded, independent-minded, fast-paced, high-energy, client-focused, or employee-focused, among others.

Find out whether you will like their culture. Finding something out about your interviewers and the organisation before the D-day will help you to do this seamlessly.

Stay safe!