Why I Won’t Hire You
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 11:07 — Charlie BUpdate 1/18/12: This post received a lot of attention. More than I would have thought. It is written in a negative tone, which is perhaps not the ideal way to communicate this. Although many job seekers disagree with the sentiments expressed, I have had dozens of hiring managers and recruiters reach out to tell me they feel the same way. Although the tone may need some work and people may not like it, the point of the article is that what most people do to get jobs isn't working, and their attitude should change accordingly.
Update 1/20/2012: To those who believe this is not realistic, see a job posting for a software engineer which references this article:
"...We have an energetic and inspired team and have an immediate need to add like minded people to our group. Prior to applying, you are encouraged to read the blog post below. While not authored by us, it's a pretty accurate and candid description of our interview thought process: <link here>"
I will be very honest with you in this post. Most interview articles only show obvious mistakes, as if most people don’t know showing up late is bad form. I will tell you the things I didn’t really know about until I was the one interviewing, and interviewing for a variety of positions and person-types. No interview prep article ever prepared me in the right way for how interviewers really think. That is what I will be sharing with you today.
When you first walk in to my office, I am expecting you to be one of the 99%+ people who I know I won’t hire in the first 5 minutes. I am hoping I will be proven wrong, because I really want to hire you and be done interviewing. Unfortunately, most people looking for jobs don’t deserve them. Here are the most common ways I know you don’t deserve any job I have to offer.
You send me a stupidly long resume
If I have to spend more than 30 seconds finding out what you have accomplished, forget it. You have annoyed me. Somehow, since resumes went digital, people feel like they can cram in 10 pages of boring essays talking about this achievement or that role, and expect me to read every juicy word. More likely, I will ignore the whole thing, write down in my notes “poor communicator”, and move on. If you have a good set of skills or something catches my eye, you might still get an interview, but I’ll still never read the resume. And you had better be a better communicator on the phone or in person.
Think about it this way – the resume items communicate to me your past successes in a (supposedly) succinct manner. If you can’t nail it in one sentence, do I really want to look forward to your rambling emails every day? If I can’t read your resume, it doesn’t bode well for your emails, and I get enough of those in my inbox as it is.
To craft a great resume, tailor it to my job posting. If I have a skill set in there like “Windows Administration”, make sure you have at least one bullet point talking about success in a project where you used that skill. Make the bullet no longer than three sentences. One is better. I am likely to read one sentence. I might read three. More than that and I won’t even know what you wrote there. You wasted my time and your own.
You can’t tell me why you like your current job
I always ask people what they like most about their current job before I get into any details about a role. Why? I want to see if you’ll be happy working in this new job. If you can’t tell me anything you like, or you tell me something you like but it sounds really generic? Then forget it, I have no idea what you want to do in life and you probably don’t either. Come see me when you know what you want to do. I would even be happy with something like “Well, this job doesn’t enliven me, but my last job, I loved doing XXX every day, and man, I miss that. It looks like this role will let me get back to that.” Let me know you're passionate or don’t waste my time.
The worst answers? “Well I like the challenge” or some other BS. Don’t BS me. I have a super BS detector, and most other interviewers do too. The worst BS is the kind where more than 50% of candidates say the same thing. If you can’t be original about what you like about your unique job how can I expect you to be creative working for me?
If you have a generic answer like you enjoy learning, the challenge, helping customers, that can be alright. Just sound excited when you talk about it. Give me an example of a time when you got really fired up about it. I don’t mind if it doesn’t relate to the job I am interviewing you for, though that helps. Just expect me to ask why you think this job will give you the same passion – and have a good answer ready. Really, why else are you applying if you don’t know this?
No career plans or vision
When I ask you what your next role is going to be after the one you’re interviewing for, you had better have a good answer. Everyone should have a story about why you want to come work for me, in this specific role. If you can tell me how this role helps you accomplish your long term goals, I’m much more likely to think you’ll be happy here and work hard in the job. If you just want a job, why should I care? Someone else will come to me with their vision. Eventually.
A good answer is a well thought out vision. You should have that anyway. Here is a good example: “I am looking to move away from working in my current small company to a bigger company with more career growth and opportunities. I want to rise to an executive level in the next 10 years, but my current company is too small to allow me to stretch effectively in that way. [This role] builds on my strengths in communication and project management, and will help me grow as a leader and improve my influencing skills. In a few years, I would look to becoming a senior manager…” and on with how this role fits into your life vision.
No Skills
Please, don’t bother applying if you don’t have the required skills. I will know. If you’ll be programming, expect to program in the interview. And program well. If you’ll be project managing, you had better be able to tell me about the right way to build a project plan and project vision. I’ll probably even describe a project and ask you to build a plan right there, with me. Just because the title has something in it you vaguely think you can do, if you don’t meet the requirements, please don’t waste my time. I might be ok if you are up front with me and tell me you want a career change and are willing to take a more junior position to learn. I might take a chance on you if everything else is solid. But tell me that in your resume so we don’t waste time. Yes, telling me that in your resume improves your chances of getting hired, even if not necessarily for this job or winning an interview. I won’t claim this is true for all interviewers, but it is true for me.
It’s about setting expectations. If you come in, and my expectation is, for instance, that you know Unix administration, and then you tell me “Well, I read a book and I really want to learn it”, no, I won’t like that. If instead you put in your resume an objective line “Looking to grow skills in Unix administration from a project background”, now we are on the same page. If I don’t need an expert right now, maybe I will invest in training you since you have the vision and self-motivation. Oh, and describing what you are doing to prepare is also good, even if you don’t have on the job experience. See how the expectation can change my perspective? Give me happy surprises, not unhappy surprises.
Answer my questions with conjecture
I will test you in a lot of ways. I will ask you to describe a lot of situations – where you failed, where you succeeded, what you would change, what you hate and what you love. Don’t sit there and tell me what you would do in the future. I didn’t ask what you would do, I asked what you did. If I have to wait for you to finish talking, then say “Could you give me a specific example where you did something like that?” Then you have failed to answer my question. If I ask for an example, please give me one. If you don’t have one, that’s ok, tell me you have never been in that situation, but you have some ideas if I would like to hear them. Yes, I probably would like to hear them, but I might also have another question with different examples I would rather know about.
If you don’t think well on your feet, spend some time reading through and practicing situational interview questions. I won’t ever use one I see online, but it will help train your mind to answer, and give you fresh memories to draw from. I also don’t mind when a candidate pauses to think. I will wait. I know everyone has different styles of thinking and responding.
How to Win the interview
I think it’s pretty simple. I look for a few traits in people I am going to hire. If you are missing even one, I’m probably going to pass you up for someone who doesn’t. Do your best to show off these traits and you’ll win. This is true in every case, from hiring a janitor to an executive.
- Show me you can get things done. This means you can accomplish challenging tasks quickly, come up to speed when necessary, go the extra mile if you have to, influence peers. You must be self-motivated.
- Show me you are intelligent. I will ask you questions that are designed to make you think. Show me you can. Don’t confuse intelligence with education. I don’t care what kind of schooling you had, if you can’t think, no job. If you can think, and aren’t educated, no problem in my book, though I’ll probably look for more experience instead.
- Show me how I fit into your vision. Truthfully, we’ll work best together if you think this job is the best place for you to be right now. I want to help you succeed in your career, let me.
- Be highly skilled. Unfortunately, I don’t hire awesome people who don’t have the right skill mix. But I do keep their information around for when I need their skill mix. I also tend to recommend these people to others who are hiring as strong candidates. The skill level required to be hired depends on the job and expectations. Entry level can get away with rough skill sets or classwork. Senior needs to be top of the field, regardless of years in the workforce.
- Be Passionate. If you are bored working in a similar job somewhere else, you’ll be bored with me. Period. I don’t want any of that.
The End
Most of the stuff I am talking about here has nothing to do with Golem Technologies, but more about what it is like to hire in the first place. There are so many articles out there with bad advice for both those hiring and those trying to be hired, I wanted to inject some raw honesty into the equation. If you are looking to hire people, then I would recommend you use my 5 points above to screen people. As for me hiring, no, I am not currently hiring, so please don’t ask me. When I am hiring though, and if you happen to apply, the above is the criteria I will use to decide.
This is true across business functions and across companies. The people who have the stuff I listed to win the interview will get jobs they want consistently. If you are lacking something, then figure out a way to get there. Just having a plan puts you ahead of 99% of job candidates. I also like giving people a chance whenever they let me, as long as I have the flexibility to do so. So far, I haven’t been disappointed.
Do you have hiring war stories (interviewer or interviewee)? Share them in the comments!
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wow! Finally - practical, insightful, and timely. Thank you for your honest assessment. I'm interviewing and this is good stuff!
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Good site you've got here.. It's difficult to find quality writing like
yours nowadays. I honestly appreciate individuals
like you! Take care!!
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You sound like a cunt to be honest.
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You are truly a prick, and I would rather be unemployed for five years than work for you!
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agree, this is very nice and I agree with you, BTW want for information
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This article opened my eyes and I have printed it out to review before my interviews. Thank you for the insight. It was a big help.
Good luck! I hope they go well for you!
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Awesome post.
Take a look at my blog post; Swing Copters Hack
Wow @ the arrogant tone of this article! People in your Company enjoy working for a narcissist?
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Just sad....
As an interviewee, I also am very frustrated to receive a boat loads of inquiries that I am a "perfect fit" for every job under the sun when my resume clearly shows my passion is in project management and consulting.
I love my job, I love what I do, but I am also not blind that other opportunities exist and one should always be aware of what is out there and consider other offers. Two roles I held were those where someone sought me out. Plus I know people who are looking and pass along those which feel like a good fit.
I used to respond politely, "no thank you, I am not interested in a purchasing manager role" (or whatever role is tied one single solitary word on my resume.) Why not blog about the woes of the interviewee that must screen out the overzealous recruiters?
Recruiters can sometimes be a problem because they work on commission. I face some of the same issues where they pass through "perfect" candidates who don't really want the job I am offering and aren't a good fit.
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You're an asshole, glad I don't work for you.
Very well done!
A really good piece of work!
Thank you for the insight.
This is exactly what job seekers need to hear - the truth!
Getting hired is hard and you are judged. Most of the information you are getting about your job search doesn't increase your chances of getting hired, it increases your chances of getting eliminated! Putting too much information on your resume will get you eliminated as quickly as not having enough info on it. Being over educated is as bad as being under educated.
Being general of non-specific in an interview is just noise and guess what... eliminated.
It is easier to get hired to do what you want to do. You do that by firstly knowing what that is and telling hiring managers exactly what it is you can and want to do as well as what they can do to support you and get your best performance possible.
Great article.
Corey Harlock - Renegade Career Coach
Thanks Corey! Tons of hiring managers agree, even if employees don't like what I have to say.
Amen to that! I used to work at an employment agency, and it is very frustrating to read the countless comments here that are insulting the author, and saying that they would never work for such an "asshole".
The people who can't handle this blog are the type of stubborn people who often came into my employment agency, expecting to be handed a manager's position, even though they had absolutely no qualifications or skills for it. They would complain when bosses told them off for showing up at job interviews in t-shirts and shorts, they would complain when we would give them tips for job interviews, they would complain when we would offer them short courses to gain qualifications, they would complain when they had to show up to our appointments (ONE appointment every few months is hardly cruel!), etc.
This generation seems to want everything handed to them without actually working for it. They show up to job interviews with bad resumes, bad application letters, without researching the company, and with a nasty attitude. Then they get pissy when they aren't given the job. They accuse the boss of being an asshole, too picky, playing favoritism, etc. They need a hard dose of reality, and it's a damn shame that many of them will never learn
I'm confounded why people are lauding your honesty when you primarily illustrate a failing of the modern career climate. Unless you're hiring for a resume writer it's naive to expect perfection in soft skills that aren't commonly applicable to the position at hand.
It's frankly repugnant that you bemoan wasting time *doing your job*; measured in hours, days, maybe weeks, sifting through less than ideally packaged candidates whose potential value to the company will be measured in months, years, perhaps even decades.
I understand where you're coming from Arthur, but I don't look for perfect resumes, only clear writing ability. My time is valuable, and it isn't my job to sift through resumes, but to lead a team to deliver solutions to customers. Every minute I spend looking at a candidate I won't hire is a minute I am not adding value to customers, so where is my time better spent?
There are many times I have interviewed people with poor resumes because they caught my interest. More likely though, is that I will pass them up for someone with a clearer resume. If I only have 10 interview slots, and I can only pick based on resume, I will just take the top 10 resumes. Clarity of communication is important for most roles, and presumably people are spending hours crafting a great resume, so it should be one of their best communications. I should have illustrated better how bad many resumes are. Poor spelling, bad grammar, 20 pages long, lots of irrelevant paragraphs, jargon no one can understand, not formatted well, etc.
And you are right - their value will be measured in years, so I want the very best candidate. In fact, I would rather hire no one than someone who isn't the very best - it just isn't worth it these days. So a very bad resume means they probably aren't the very best since other people will come along with a great resume and skill set...eventually.
Sadly your answer shows that you are a hypocrite! You say that if the resume is not very good than the candidate must no be either, yet you make basic grammar mistakes which by your own thought process must equate to you not being a very goo recruiter!
If I make a grammar mistake in English, well it is my forth!
I do get what you are trying to convey here but it backfired big time! I
After I retired from the service I had a few interviews with recruiters that were less than professional and they got to hear it!
Don't misunderstand the difference between grammar in comments or online articles with a professional document. Most of my writing here gets a once over review, and yes, some minor grammar errors pass through. Resume's with similar errors like it's vs its or your vs you're don't matter. The issues I am talking about are sentences like "I were a career in projects. I worked with great team." (from a real resume for a $100k job) Maybe extreme, but in a position where someone will be communicating with lots of emails - it matters.
You shouldn't have an apostrophe in "Resume's." Here's a tip from the publishing industry: If you want to look like an authority on a subject and get people to listen to you, learn spelling and grammar.
The article was spot on. I enjoyed reading it, while a lot of effort went into being honest, direct to the point, and blunt. If an individual applies for a position, then do not waste the interviewers time by not having the skills, or abilities trained to do the job. Do not apply for a position if you cannot do it. I find it very annoying, after taking my time to read a resume, only to learn that during the interview the individual has beefed it up only to look good. Check references as well. References will tell a lot about a person's abilities.
Excellent commentary. I appreciate you candor... if other readers can't handle the reality, their skin is too thin!
I agree, if you don't want to hear the truth, you will never get the job. I like knowing who I am working with from the start. Get to the point, and let's start working.
Although this post might seem aggressive to a lot of people, everything mentioned
Is very truthful. Keep an open mind and try to see what you could
Possibly improve in yourself instead of attacking the truth with negativity.
Mr. Charlie Balmer, It would be a REAL pleasure to meet you, Sir!
"You can’t tell me why you like your current job - (...) Then forget it, I have no idea what you want to do in life and you probably don’t either. Come see me when you know what you want to do. (...)"
"Please, don’t bother applying if you don’t have the required skills. I will know. (...) Just because the title has something in it you vaguely think you can do, if you don’t meet the requirements, please don’t waste my time. (...) It’s about setting expectations. (...) Give me happy surprises, not unhappy surprises."
Passionate, inteligent, honest, a true good leader, the kind of one I like to follow.
Carla Trindade
I had an interview last year who reminded me of this person. Very arrogant and as if they're shit dont stink. I feel employers are expecting way too much for new hires. What they need to inquire and consider is how is the persons work ethic. Is the person reliable, always late, on time, willing to work late if necessary, taking too many breaks? Also, maybe you should look at the company itself and if it does not promote a healthy and good morale atmosphere, chances are no matter who you hire, may not want to stay there long. Me, personally, Im about the work itself and co-workers. Whether I work for a fast food chain or a top 10 company, if the co-workers are nasty, disrespectful, lazy or unmotivated, then I would not want to stay there, no matter what the pay is. Most of us all have the required skills necessary (word, excel, outlook, typing, filing, proofreading, etc), so you should really consider delving deeper into the personality of the person to narrow it down. Would you rather hire someone who has a degree, but is lazy and tardy, or would you rather hire someone with a HS diploma, with most, if not all of the same skillset, but is never late, works hard and is personable?
I agree with most of what you say. In fact, I even say education doesn't matter, and the ability to get things done on your own is one of the most important things I look for. In fact, if you look at your last sentence - that's exactly what I hire for and nothing else. My questions are designed to tease that information out.
The other side of the coin - making an awesome working environment, is very important for retention. Selling the job is also key in an interview, though I didn't cover any of that here.
I 100% agree with this... I am 47 and a well seasoned worker. I only have a HS diploma, but have 30+ yrs experience and get very frustrated when I see jobs that I can do, but they are asking for a degree. They would rather hire a individual with a degree who has never worked in a office environment, over someone like myself with experience. What the difference? Spending time learning at college?, or learning on the job?
Maybe you had better double check your owns sills at proofreading, "they're shit dont stink" should be "their shit does not stink,” not to mention the missing apostrophe in "I'm.” Having said that, I would also like to add that I am sure it is probably difficult in an interview to determine if a prospective employee is going to be punctual, willing to work late, or taking too many breaks. The questions can be asked, but some people can be quite the actors, saying what needs to be said to get the job. I, personally, appreciate the candor of the article, and have heard some of it before...be concise with your résumé, bullet the most important things to catch the eye of the reader. In addition, I have come to realize that a cover letter is of great importance. This is where you get the chance to show the interviewer where you excel, how your experience and/or training "fits" the position for which you are applying.
One other thing I would like to say; yes, a well-written résumé and cover letter, free of grammatical and spelling errors, also shows the interviewer that you are very detail-oriented, and have put a lot of time, effort, and thought into them. Moreover, if you show that kind of dedication to yourself, (after all, you are "selling yourself" with a letter and résumé), then you will surely show that same drive and dedication in your position. As an example, I had accidentally put the wrong year on the experience portion of my résumé, making it look like I was working at two jobs for a few months. Simple typographical error, but I was very embarrassed when the interviewer pointed it out to me. Needless to say, I did not get the position. After all, if I cannot even proofread my own résumé for a simple error, what kind of administrative assistant would I be?
I think this falls into the 'harsh but fair' category. I really appreciate the rant - and I think that job hunters who take offense would do well to come back to this article after a decaf because Charlie B has actually clearly defined some of the areas that job hunters can address to increase their effectiveness. If he was solely on a rant, he could easily have resorted to unproductive labelling and name-calling. Instead, he's taken the time to clearly outline areas for improvement. It's clear to me he cares about improving the situation - consider him the Roseanne of HR guys.
You can do a whole lot worse than work for someone like this - I really appreciate my time working for a 'harsh but fair' CFO. You always knew the expectations and where you stood - and you were forced to create and bring your 'A' game. Not always a cheerful chat at the coffee maker, but I certainly learned how business works - especially how to not take everything personally. Dragons like to breathe fire - and sometimes you're just the person standing there.
Thanks for the article - I'm taking it to my group of job hunters today.
Excellent advice. I agree with this strategy. I look forward to future articles.
Interviewing is a two-way process. In a normal and stable job market, the interviewer and interviewee are on the same level, one is looking for the best candidate the job can "afford" and the other is looking for the best offer that his/her skill will "command". In extreme economic environments as in boom and bust, the "expectation" and "leverage" of each side varies based on the supply and demand of jobs versus applications. This article simply shows the dynamic of hiring when the job market is very restrictive and limited. It might be correct and justified if indeed there are fewer jobs to go around but in a different time, it is virtually a recipe for the complete failure on the interviewer's part.
I'd been through the dot.com boom when we were losing people left and right and it was next to impossible to find good replacements. Companies were climbing on top of each others, lavishing bonuses, free food and drinks, massages and other perks just to get a decent hire. The "job" seekers were grilling the interviewers, pitting them and their companies against each other. Restaurant owners in the Silicon Valley were complaining that their waiters and waitresses had all gone off to become high-tech employees. Would anyone have the mindset and use the tactics mentioned in the article to get the most qualified candidate in such an environment? Who is really the "interviewer" in that situation?
The truth is that a job interview is a negotiation between 2 parties. No one is doing the other any favor. If the goal is to get the most qualified candidate for your money, the interviewer will eventually need to sell his offer to that candidate of choice. At this time, the table is turned and the two sides switch their positions. As much as interviewees have to prepared for a good outcome, the same can be said of the interviewers. Do they know what to say and how to conduct themselves to present a respectable image? Do they know how to sell the offer when the time comes? Where is the guide for the interviewers?
As an interviewer, I'll not hire a cocky, full-of-himself jerk no matter how smart he really is. I'll need more than just one person to do the job and he will not be able to work with others. As a confident, self-respected and qualified candidate, I'll not work for a company whose people are cocky, full-of-themselves jerks either.
If you approach people thinking that they are small and worthless as a given, you will soon find yourself in such company only, because the real "good ones" stay away from you and the ones that are like you think the same of you: small and worthless.
I have been a recruiter for a national S&P 500 industry leader for six years now and how I wish I could be so honest with my candidates! The most I can do is end the interview as quickly as possible so that even more precious time isn't wasted. Interviewing is brutally exhausting because the vast majority of applicants and interviewees are exactly the way you describe. A hiring manager for a 30 person non-profit may have a completely different POV from a recruiter of a 5,000 employee corporation. If anyone is turned off by the frankness of Charlie's post and you feel you would never want to work for someone like him, then you should probably look for a more warm and fuzzy industry to work in or an employer with a very relaxed company culture. Charlie, thank you for your candid expression. I am a fan of it and have, in the last year or so, become passionate about transitioning my career into coaching (young adults) on these very principles. Recruiting is not for me anymore and I am desperate to help people stop making the very mistakes you mentioned and help them get jobs!
The writer comes off like a pompous azzhole. Don't need a job from a self aggrandising workaholic. Lose my resume before we start. Sorry Charlie you just passed up some prime talent.
Sir I have done MCA MTECH(CSE) I doing Teaching since three year and a gap of 2 year after degree I want to a s/w engg. BUt late i realised I am not meant for this job so I started teaching .Now I wnat to joinn banking sector I wnat the answer
Q : U have done Mtech why u want to join bank
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