Every candidate that comes through your door for a job interview will be prepared to ask good questions, present their best selves and will work hard to explain why they’re the best person for the job. 

But during the interview, be sure to keep your ears open for a few red flags that could indicate the candidate is not the one you’re looking for to join your company. 

Here are red flags that should not be ignored during interviews. 

• A lack of eye contact and other suggestions of a lack of confidence. Interviews make people nervous. That’s understandable. But if the candidate cannot look you in the eye, or hold your gaze for more than a second or two at a time, that might be an indication that the answers they’re giving you are not the full truth. If they’re not demonstrating good posture to the best of their perceived ability, or if they don’t greet you with a smile or handshake, they might not believe themselves to be a good candidate, meaning they won’t give you their best. 

• They don’t seem familiar with what your company does. All candidates should spend at least a little time learning about the company where they’re applying and interviewing. Sometimes that can be covered up with generic answers, but if the candidate can’t give specific details about why they’re interested in working for your company, or in the position they’re interviewing for, that doesn’t provide a lot of confidence that they’ll be ready for the job should they land it. They might be getting into something for which they are not qualified or interested, meaning you could have this same position open again soon. 

• They arrive late. Traffic happens. It’s sometimes easy to get lost when driving to a new part of town. But candidates should account for that and give themselves plenty of extra time to arrive a few minutes early for an interview. This shows a lack of thinking ahead and preparation, bad traits to demonstrate to a would-be employer. If they arrive at the interview late, and looking disheveled, or make excuses about why they’re late and look messy, that could be an indication that they don’t take their work seriously. 

• Gaps in employment or a series of quick stints at very different positions. Sometimes there’s a very good, valid reason for why a person spends only a short time at a company, or why they were out of the workforce for a long stretch of time. Ask the candidate about any gaps or hops in their resume and really listen to the answers. Do they seem reasonable and based in truth? Or does it seem like they’re trying to craft a cover story to cover something else up? 

• They don’t have questions for you. Prepared candidates will have researched your company and will be able to tie their background and experience to the position for which they’re applying, as previously stated. But when you present them the opportunity to ask you questions, they sit silently. They might fumble to ask something, anything, or they could ask about something that should wait until later in the interview process, like PTO. If they’re not interested in learning more when they have the chance to do so, what will they want to learn when on the job? Will they be more curious later? Or will you have a disinterested employee who’s just looking to get a check while trying to find something else? 

Some candidates might have very good, legitimate reasons for being late, not holding eye contact or having gaps in their resume. When you’re talking with someone, you’ll get a sense of their personality, their priorities and goals, and whether they’d fit in well with your team. But if any of the red flags raised above come up and you don’t like the feeling you get from the interview, it’s best to move on. 

Davis Staffing can help you find better qualified candidates that will be eager and interested to join your team! Contact us today and we’ll be happy to help you find a better fit.