It's not just employers who end uninspiring interviews with “don't call us, we'll call you.” Prospective employees are also turned off by awkward, unprofessional interviews, according to a study released Tuesday. More than half of job candidates report that the behaviour of the interviewer influences their decision to accept a position – or not, according to a global survey of 3,725 job-seekers, co-sponsored by human resources consulting firm Development Dimensions International Inc. and online job site, Monster.com. Here's what annoys job-seekers most, they found: 68 per cent of those surveyed cited an aloof attitude by hiring managers – “acting like he/she has no time to talk to me” – as a common, and off-putting, experience. 55 per cent complained that interviewers withhold information about the position, and what the job actually entails. 48 per cent said they are aggravated by interviewers who show up late and keep them cooling their heels in reception. 45 per cent griped about interviewers who are unprepared (one survey respondent, a candidate for an office manager position, complained that the hiring manager was 15 minutes late, and when he finally showed up, said: “I'm sorry, who are you?”). 45 per cent said they are turned off by interviewers who ask questions they feel are unrelated to job skills needed for the position. These include such questions as, “If you were an animal (or a fruit, a Disney character, tree, etc.) what kind would you be?” or, “What would you do if I gave you an elephant?” Monster and DDI said in their report, Selection Forecast 2006/2007: Slugging Through the War for Talent. These questions, “of unsubstantiated validity, [are] apparently used to make inferences about traits or abilities,” according to the report. One survey respondent reported having been asked: “If you were a dog, what kind would you be?” Other questions were clear invasions of privacy, as in: “Would you date two people in one night?” Another common interviewer mistake is turning the interview into “a cross-examination,” as if the employer is looking for some evidence of falsification on the application. “Although candidates expect to be asked questions, no one likes to be grilled,” according to the report. The study's authors said that, while employers often complain about how hard it is to find qualified employees, some of their own actions are to blame. “An interview can quickly escalate from being a meeting of the minds to a clash of personalities if both parties are not prepared and respectful of one another,” Suzanne Gagnon, manager of consulting services for DDI Canada, said in releasing results of the survey. DDI and Monster also polled 628 staffing directors and 1,250 hiring managers – who had their own list of grievances about job-seekers. The most common: 77 per cent of hiring managers complained about job candidates being late for interviews, being poorly dressed or unkempt; 71 per cent were irritated by job-seekers who gave vague answers about past work experience; 62 per cent complained about job-seekers exaggerating their qualifications; 53 per cent said they were bothered by “inarticulate” candidates; and 52 per cent complained about candidates who treated interview questions “like an imposition.” More professionalism, on both sides, would lead to better outcomes, DDI and Monster said. “Dissatisfaction abounds, both internally as human resources specialists and managers struggle to fill open positions, and externally as job candidates pick their way through cumbersome and insensitive systems,” they reported.

“Everyone, it seems, is slugging through the war for talent.”