8 Ways Your Interview Totally Put That Candidate Off

8 Ways Your Interview Totally Put That Candidate Off Where job interviews are concerned,  I guess candidates are sort of  supposed to feel like the inferior ones  who have to win over their superiors aka the interviewers. To some extent that power play is totally fine,  given candidates are vying against a number of competitors to  bag  the role and  really  have to prove themselves. The trouble with this is, when  a candidate applies for your role, it doesnt  mean youve automatically got them if you want them. Oh no, far from it. Youre  going to have to prove youre the best employer to suit their needs, too. If you cant? Theyll go elsewhere. Im privy to so many cases of candidates going to an interview hoping to come out wowed  and convinced its the role of their dreams, only to walk out feeling completely underwhelmed  and uninterested. Why does it happen? Ive compiled a few points from personal experience within my wider network to help explain the sudden turn-off: 1. You were really unorganised The candidate waited in reception for ages with no idea what was going on. You came out 1o minutes past the hour and your first  word to them were begging for forgiveness for being late. You failed to properly book a meeting room, so had to sit in an oversized boardroom which you got kicked out of half way through. The whole thing felt like a mess with no structure. 2. You didnt answer vital questions Candidates know they should ask questions that show their ambition, interest and capabilities. They know they shouldnt focus on things like salary, benefits and working hours as it will come across as though they are prioritising the wrong things.  Still, you didnt give the candidate any gauge on these things which are actually HUGE factors that are important to candidates, and lets face it, every working person out there. 3. You barely looked at their CV beforehand When you greeted them, you had to quickly  pause and look for their name on the CV in your book. Hi Paul, nice to meet you Paul You then went on to ask them which university they went to, where they currently work and for how long theyve been there all questions which are clearly written in their CV. Theyve lost sleep overnight from excitement and nerves about meeting you, and in return, you made them feel like any  old applicant  you really know nothing about.  Ultimately, you deflated them within minutes of meeting them, which is hard to come back from. 4. You failed to brief them on the point of the interview Your candidate literally studied so much material for this interview and all you  asked them was why they like working in a team and why they want to leave their current role. You didnt talk about their technical skills or give them a chance to impress you with the knowledge theyve been fine-tuning for days. You should have told them that the first interview was more of a meet greet, and the 2nd round is where the grilling happens. They probably still would have prepared the same, but at l;east they wouldnt have felt it was all a waste of time. 5. You made them repeat themselves too  many times You met the candidate, really liked them and then out of nowhere, decided you wanted them to meet your boss then and there, who then introduced them to another  colleague who then handed them back to you. The CEO walked past and you made another introduction, along with the CMO and you get it. Every time the candidate met a new person, they  had to go through the same trimmed version of their career  story, over and over again, until they lost track of who theyd told what and who was who. You exhausted them in what felt like a useless panel exercise without structure. Too much too soon. 6.  You gave nothing away Your candidate sat there absolutely sweating bullets trying to answer the questions to the best of their ability, being put on the spot and having to perform for the sake of their whole career. In return, you gave absolutely no indication of whether theyd done a great job or completely  bombed out. They came out feeling confused and self-critical; if getting even the smallest smile form you felt like drawing blood from a stone, you probably didnt  paint yourself as a great person to work for, eve if you were simply trying to keep your cards close to your chest. 7.  You ran way overtime They have another job to go back to and you know it. They had to concoct a special story to get them out of the office and make it in time for  the interview, and you showed serious disregard for their other responsibilities. they sat their freaking out inside because they knew they needed to leave but didnt want to ruffle your feathers by ending the interview quickly, for fear of shooting themselves in the foot. You put them in a really hard position and it wasnt fair. 8.  You appear to have no idea about the role You clearly have budget to hire someone, but you appear to have no idea about the reason youre hiring them. You really struggled to sell them the role, and seemed unsure about what they would actually be doing. They came out wondering what their responsibilities would be, and why you even bothered to bring them in. Needless to say, their  enthusiasm dwindled majorly. Sure, there are still several other things that could have turned the candidate off. Maybe they didnt like you personally, or maybe the role actually wasnt what they thought it was going to be. The point? Instead of hearing someone drop out of the running and saying oh well, their loss, they probably werent right anyway take a closer look at the part you played in pushing them away.