There is Nothing Wrong in Turning Down a Promising Candidate for a Job
As you look at the potential candidates for a job, you found one who seems to be the perfect person given the job description. The candidate has the right educational background, work experience and skills necessary to do a great job. It does not guarantee that you will hire this person right away. You might still have to turn this promising candidate down for certain reasons.
Arrogant
The problem with people who seem to have the necessary qualities for a job is they tend to be overconfident. As a result, they become disrespectful. They answer questions as if they know everything. They interrupt you when you speak. They might also be prejudiced towards other employees because they feel like they are better. You will notice these signs during the interview. If you think that the candidate will only cause trouble with the team if hired, you need to rethink your decision.
Generic responses
When you interview a job candidate, you might feel like the person offers smart-sounding answers. You feel amazed with how quick the responses were and how confident the delivery was. However, upon close inspection of the answers, you realize that there is nothing in the response made sense. They were too generic and there were no specific solutions to the problems you raised. This is a clear example of someone who has the form but without substance. You do not need that person to be in your team.
No positive recommendations
You need to consider the other people this candidate worked with in the past by asking for a recommendation letter. You can also call the ones listed on the resume. If you feel that those words are positive and these previous employers seem enthusiastic about the candidate, it shows that you have someone who established a good relationship with others. It is difficult for some employers to say something nice about someone who just left their team. However, if the candidate is really good, even if it hurts them, they only have nice words to say.
You have negative vibes
Sometimes, you will know it as the person walks in if you have the right candidate for the job. You just have a hunch about the person being a match for your team. Make sure though that your gut feeling has nothing to do with your personal biases. You might have had a bad experience with a tall employee in the past and you think that all tall employees are terrible. Of course, you still need to give this person a chance to be interviewed and go through the process before you make a decision.
The point is that not everyone who seems good in paper will actually do a great job. There are candidates who might have all the qualifications, but are not the perfect fit. Do not feel bad about letting them go since you will eventually find the right one.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image from https://unsplash.com/photos/uR512D4HVNQ
2nd image from https://www.ziprecruiter.com/blog/recruiting-out-of-state-job-candidates/
