What is the most common reason for you to reject a candidate at the time of the interview?

Following are some points which can lead to the rejection of candidate in any interview:-

Stability Factor........if the person is not seems to be stable. Like keeps on changing his/her jobs in short time.

Poor Communication.........it’s not only about talking in English or in any specific language it about conveying the proper message in proper manner.

Job Knowledge..............some time people comes for interview for any particular post but if you ask any question regarding that field they don’t give a proper or satisfied answer which means they don’t know even about their own field and some times they just try too bluff instead of accepting it that they don’t know much about it.. This creates a negative impression.

Un updated Resume.......If a candidate is coming without updated resume it really creates a very negative impression. Sometimes they write on the printed resume in order to update it.

These are the points which can lead a candidate to the rejection in any interview. Many other points are also there but these are the most important.

Regards,

Rohini

This is one aspect which can NOT be revealed from just reading the resume.

Well i agree with Gargi on her Point but then everybody won't think like that, just because he is not having experience in the field doesn't make him that he is not eligible, if we do like that we might potentially loose a good candidate who could have been in the organization.  For me to reject a candidate during the interview is like;

. Inappropriate background
• Poor personal appearance
• Lack of interest and enthusiasm
• Failure to keep eye contact
• Late to the interview
• Asks no questions about the job
• Inability to express self clearly
• Poor communication skills
• Lack of pose or self confidence
• Unrealistic salary demands
• Lack of maturity - no leadership potential
• Lack of extra-curricular activities
• Knows nothing about the company
• Unwilling to relocate

In my openion...No one is good or bad resource in the industry... the thing which bother you to reject is fitment in the organization.

I absolutely agree with Gargi and Nikhil Jain. If candidate is a fresh one and nobody wants to take a fresh candidte who will take them and how they will get an experience. Believe me I was the fifth ranker in the mumbai University (India) in Chemical Engineering in 2003, But it was very difficult to get job for me.

Such situations ask candidate to do any job. He may joins Call Center or try to do any stupid jobs which he actually doesn't wants to do. Again when he actually get a call from his related industry, due to lack of knowledge he/she may get reject.

Some candidates has good experience but due to less cofidence they may get reject.

Poor Communication Skills.

Less experience in the required field.

Even from resume also u cant predict the quality of a candidate. On paper he/she may be well knowledgable well experienced but in actual practice he/she may not be so.

i THINK IS IT TRU FOR ALL CANDIDATE , IT MAY BE FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION.

Just chk this out, I strongly feel any single mismatch of the below mentioned points would disassociate the interaction.

1. Mismatch of employer and employee stand

2. Mismatch of the qualification or eligibity criteria

3. Mismatch of the role clarity

4. Mismatch of the culture

5. Mismatch of the eye to eye contact

6. Mismatch of the dress sense

7.Mismatch of the speech, voice, pitch, tone etc., 

8. Mismatch of the intentions and actions

9.Mismatch of the expectations

10.Mismatch of the past and present profiles

and overall a mismatch of the frequency fluctuations between an interviewer and an interviewee.

It is such an important factor and yet i have never, never seen an HR professional mention this as one of the reasons for rejection. Every one acknowledges the fact that people do not leave jobs, they leave their bosses. This is one of the main reasons for attrition and also one of the best methods of retention. Yet whe we recruit, we look at his cultural fit, his attitude, his experence, his integrity blah, blah but never his compatibility with his BOSS!!! Lets face it, he could have all the factors "top class" but if he is not going to be compatible with his boss, he is not going to be there for too long. You might have an immediate closure but hang on dont stop recruiting because you are going to need a replacement very soon.

Cheers

Navneet

1. Poor attitude.
Many candidates come across as arrogant. While employers can afford to be self-centered, candidates cannot.

2. Appearance.
Many candidates do not consider their appearance as much as they should. First impressions are quickly made in the first three to five minute.

3. Lack of research.
It's obvious when candidates haven't learned about the job, company or industry prior to the interview. The Internet makes it easy to research the company. Visit the library then talk with friends, peers and other professionals about the opportunity before each meeting.

4. Not having questions to ask.
Asking questions shows your interest in the company and the position. Prepare a list of intelligent questions in advance.

5. Not readily knowing the answers to interviewers' questions. Anticipate and rehearse answers to tough questions about your background, such as recent termination or an employment gap. . Practicing with your spouse or friend before the interview will help you to frame intelligent answers.

6. Relying too much on resumes
Employees hire people, not paper. Although a resume can list qualifications and skills, it's the interview dialogue that will portray you as a committed, responsive team player.

7. Too much humility.
Being conditioned not to brag, candidates are sometimes reluctant to describe their accomplishments. Explaining how you reach difficult or impressive goals helps portray you as a committed, responsive team player.

8. Not relating skills to employers' needs.
Reiterate your skills and demonstrate to the employer that you can "do the same for them.” A list of sterling accomplishments means little if you can't relate them to a company’s requirements.

9. Handling salary issues ineptly.
Candidates often ask about salary and benefit packages too early. If they believe an employer is interested, they may demand inappropriate amounts and price themselves out of the jobs. Candidates who ask for too little undervalue themselves or appear desperate. . Your recruiter can provide expert advice on making your offer stage a win-win for both you and your company!

10. Lack of career direction.
Job hunters who aren't clear about their career goals often can't spot or commit to appropriate opportunities. Not knowing what you want wastes everybody's time.

11. Too much humility
Explaining how you reach difficult or impressive goals helps employers understand what you can do for them. Being conditioned not to brag, candidates are sometimes reluctant to describe their accomplishments.

The classic case of chicken-and-the-egg problem. How does a candidate get a job if they don't have experience? How do they get experience if they don't have a job?

Believe me,  I'm not even a programmer and I can come up with two good ways a programmer can get experience without having a job. Hobby programming and contributing to open source projects.

Both of these give a candidate valuable experience and show programming isn't a chore, it's his calling. Initiative, dedication, and problem-solving skills, not to mention an obsession with technology, This is what  makes a candidate stand out.

We all know the famous saying, " First Impression is the last impression."

The candinate having shabby dressing, whould at times outright be rejected because that shows the seriousness of the candinate.

Also at times the resume is very shabby with awkward fonts, the candinate does get rejected there. The candinate not comming on time for the interview also gives a bad impression.

A bad attitude would showcase bad body language, strong negative communication skills and also instability in jobs. 

Many candidates face rejection during interviews primarily due to the lack of attitude and job knowledge

Most Common and Strong Reason to Reject a candidate is, that if they are found to be less comptent

-Attitude

-Body Language 

-Communication

-Unreleastic Salary Expectation

-Stability

If the candidate is upto the mark in qualification, personal skills and experience, he will learn other things and get adapted quickly.

But a person tries to wilfully give misleading information about the reason for leaving his past job etc., or in other cross questioning, his integrity is to be doubted. 

 It is better to avoid if a person is found to be lacking integrity.

Many a times the interviewer has an obsession to compare the cadidate's performance with his own at the age and time of interviewee and rejects the person who fails his anticipations.The human affliliatiations of the interviwer often plays important roles in choice of the candidate for the post : such as the institutions favoured by him, the place from which the candidate hails etc..These are the more personalized criteria when the interviwer rejects candidates not conforming them from the few probables he zeroes after preliminary screening.

i try finding out the clarity of thoughts....which finally leads to most things shared here & above....many times its important to help the candidate in getting clarity, during interview or the discussion.

however, my single most reason has been the clarity of thoughts for rejection, as if this is there, rest can fall in place.....

Another reason from lack of experience is they don't ask Questions

Sometimes candidates dont have any questions to ask us when we give them the freedom. They just go blank. This shows that they are not interested in the company and the position.

Thus we reject that candidate....No interest means no job...

The attitude, mannarism and delivery indicate confidence level and if cofidence level is low ... that person does not deserve to be recruited.

Changing the job in less than one year does not give any potential employer the faith that the candidate will stay for more than a year.

Studies have shown that a person rarely exceeds the duration in service of their first job.

it is one type of behavior which is danger while working in group. which may misslead other. those are always not agree that, they don't know the clear picture but putting asumption ideas to others.

And also they always want to create such type of image that, he knows all subject.

Not many people identify this as the reason for rejection. But I have seen so many people get a job only because they made a good impact in the first one minute of the interview.

If the first impression is not good, I think 80-90% of the times the candidate will be kept in pending, until they see more if not rejected.

Reasons for rejecting a candidadte is different for each level and the role/position.

Every one has covered all the points. I am just putting down my thougths around the Senior resource..

All the candidate are good, it is only the expectation is not aligning. Because one candidate rejected in one company, still gets a job in other company.

Senior One (Mgt, Domain, Product, Process):

Career direction - Focus, Strategy, Roadmap

Research - Company, Competitors, Landscape, Market, Technolgoies

Attiude - Strong, Weak, Poor, Aggresive,Conservative

Humility - SWOT analysis

Why You?- Differentior

Strategy - Story Board, Tactical, ...

I think it all depends on candidate's attitude & interest towards the work and also comin to interview late which gives an clear answer to reject the candidate and when u asked the candidate to come down for one more round of interview see his expression on his face and he replies is it required to come once again or y cant u arrange today itself , coz iam coming from distant place and lastly he will say iam getting this much CTC i want more than that so on these basis u can reject the candidate

i believe if the interviwer feels the few mst important reasons can be:

• if the interviewer feels that the candidate is not keen in the job. he lacks determnation towards the job.
• if the employee will not be able to create person job-fit and person-organization fit
• lack of confidence 
• poor communication skills
• bad presentable style
• overqualified                                           

* Lack of product knowledge

* Poor Attitude

* Poor communication skills

* Over expectation with regards to CTC

One of common reason for me to reject is "FITMENT & Cultural issue" or lack the right set of skills required to perform this job well.

1) POOR COMMUNICATION SKILLS:-.......a person can easily pass on in interview via his/her communication skills ...a host always see that person is really able to staying  aur not...means  person is able to explain his/her views in a proper manner or not ..........and communication skills tell it


2)LOOSE CONFIDENCE:-....a person also judge person's confidence...if they get lack of confidence then they .........n result is person is rejected in interview
a person know everything but he have not confidence then he will not give ans properly....n he will rejected.

3)UN UPDATE KNOWLEDGE:-....is also responsible for rejection of a person. you have to update for them....n yourself also...

many reasons are more but these are common....

what you  say guys

Anybody who doesnt LOOK in the eye while answering is not a candidate at all! Confidence comes from staring back and answering.. Its an attitude that says "nothing you ask me is going to unfaze me".. "I know all the answers..." so I am your GUY!

the talks more

like telling lot of stories for their past to impress. if you go indepth conversation, then you will find the emptyness in the talks.