Ignorance and Over Confidence Can Doom an Interview

May 8, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - When interviewing for a job, candidates should concentrate less on themselves and on talking, and more on researching about the company, a recent survey found.

Thirty-six percent of recruiters say that talking too much is the most common interview mistake that job candidates make, according a survey of those that took the Executive Recruiter Index, which was released by recruiting company Korn/Ferry International.

According the survey, the second most common mistake applicants make is failing to know enough about the company they are applying to (22%), followed by an over-inflated ego (16%) and 9% say that appearing over confident is a common mistake.

More than six in ten (62%) recruiters agreed that anything more than one week is too long for a candidate to consider a formal job offer, with 29% said a week was too long.

“Executive-level candidates are unquestionably more polished and sophisticated today than ever before, so it is remarkable how many basic interview etiquette mistakes are still made,” said Charles Tseng, president of Korn/Ferry Asia Pacific, in the release. “Although small, these mistakes can often mean the difference between getting the job and being passed over.”

The survey also looked at regional differences in opinions over the appropriate time to stay with a company. North American and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) recruiters agreed on a two-year minimum and South American and Asia Pacific recruiters, one-year.

The number one reason executives leave companies after a short time is because of the failure to be able to acclimate culturally, according to recruiters in both South America and Asia Pacific.

Nealy all (87%) of recruiters agreed that executives should disclose that they worked somewhere for a short amount of time, rather than omit the position from their resumes.

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