{"id":1601,"date":"2015-06-09T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T10:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/?p=1601"},"modified":"2023-10-05T11:51:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T17:51:59","slug":"7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Things to AVOID SAYING in a Screening Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the recruiting market picking up, I am screening more candidates than I have in a long time.\u00a0 A majority of the candidates I am talking to haven’t looked for jobs in years.\u00a0 I’m not blaming the candidates for being a little rusty on their interview skills.\u00a0\u00a0I must admit, I get a little frustrated with the answers I get\u00a0from some individuals.\u00a0 You have to remember, I\u00a0 interview people for a living.\u00a0 The longer I am in this industry, the more direct I am with the candidates.\u00a0 I am not trying to piss candidates off as much as I am trying to help the candidates.\u00a0 Last year I wrote 10 Questions Recruiters Ask In a Screening Interview<\/a> which is to this date, the most popular and most read post on Bulls Eye Recruiting.\u00a0 This year, I have to go further and talk about some of the ridiculous things I hear and hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes.<\/p>\n

There are some things you just don’t say.\u00a0 There are some things you just don’t do in a screening interview.\u00a0 The examples I am going to give are REAL.\u00a0 They DID happen and more importantly, they continue to happen.\u00a0 If you aren’t getting to the next round of interviews, you may not even realize what you are doing.\u00a0 I know you may be perfectly suited for a job, and as a 3rd party recruiter, I want to help you.\u00a0 I know I am not the only guy calling you and\u00a0I genuinely want to help you succeed.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. “I got fired”-\u00a0 Seriously- this DOES happen.\u00a0 People, I know things happen to you.\u00a0 It is 2015.\u00a0 There are “corporate layoffs”, there is “restructuring”, companies “lose their funding”.\u00a0 All 3 of those are pretty good answers.\u00a0 Please for the love of Moses, don’t tell me you got fired.\u00a0 You are just shrinking your credibility.\u00a0 I’m telling you, spin it a little better than that.\u00a0 You don’t have to lie, but getting fired is a pretty bad answer.<\/li>\n
  2. “My boss sucked”-\u00a0 Okay, don’t be an idiot here.\u00a0 Telling me you can’t work with others is not the smartest thing you have ever done.\u00a0 Tell me about the things you learned.\u00a0 The good relationships you built.\u00a0 Tell me about the positives of your job.\u00a0 Don’t start on a negative.\u00a0 Make a negative into a positive.<\/li>\n
  3. “I can talk after 5 or before 8”- Listen, I get it.\u00a0 You are busy.\u00a0 You have a life.\u00a0 You have a job.\u00a0 I am a recruiter and will take calls whenever I can.\u00a0 There are only so many calls I can make before 8 or after 5.\u00a0 If you don’t take initiative, the next candidate that does will steamroll you in this candidate marketplace.\u00a0 If you wait too many days to talk to a\u00a0manager or recruiter, the candidates that took the time during the business hours will potentially get the job first.<\/li>\n
  4. “I forgot”-\u00a0 There is nothing more like fingers on a chalkboard then I forgot.\u00a0 Believe me when I tell you, it makes you sound like you don’t have it together.\u00a0 If you have a scheduled interview, have it on your calendar and be available.\u00a0 I understand things come up and if you had a conflict.\u00a0 Life happens.\u00a0 Don’t lie <\/a>and try to backtrack through.\u00a0 You will get caught.\u00a0 It will cost you a job opportunity and your credibility.<\/li>\n
  5. “I won’t” OR “I can’t”-\u00a0 I’m searching for the best of the best.\u00a0 I don’t want to hire people who say those things.\u00a0 Again, I would prefer to hear “I’m open to learning”\u00a0 or “here is an example of what I did when I didn’t have the skills”.\u00a0 Don’t have a defeatist attitude.\u00a0 You are not my candidate if you say those things.<\/li>\n
  6. “My LinkedIn profile is my Resume”-\u00a0 In 2015, you should have a great LinkedIn resume.\u00a0 You should also have an updated resume.\u00a0 If you are looking for a new job passively or actively, you should think about putting your resume together.\u00a0 You never really know when a recruiter is going to call and offer you your dream job.\u00a0 In 2014 there were more jobs created than any other year since 1999.\u00a0 You should always have your resume handy.<\/li>\n
  7. “That sounds good.\u00a0 I’m interested”-\u00a0 So if you aren’t interested in the job, don’t move forward!\u00a0 Be true to yourself.\u00a0 There is nothing more that pisses me off than someone who goes through the screening interview and says they want to take next steps and are nowhere to be found after you talked.\u00a0 You don’t have to commit if you are unsure.\u00a0 I am okay with someone thinking about the opportunity and exploring further.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Hopefully these things helped.\u00a0 I know they sound basic, but they happen way too frequently.\u00a0 Getting through the screening interview is just the first step.\u00a0 Once you get past that, you have a slew of additional questions.\u00a0 If you somehow make it to the next rounds and say these things, you will not get very far.\u00a0 Trust me.<\/p>\n

    \"@willrecruits\"
    \n<\/a><\/p>\n

    \"subscribe\"
    \n<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    With the recruiting market picking up, I am screening more candidates than I have in a long time.\u00a0 A majority of the candidates I am talking to haven’t looked for jobs in years.\u00a0 I’m not blaming the candidates for being a little rusty on their interview skills.\u00a0\u00a0I must admit, I get a little frustrated with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[458,551,552,553,137,440,212,127],"yoast_head":"\n7 Things to AVOID SAYING in a Screening Interview - Bulls Eye Recruiting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Things to AVOID SAYING in a Screening Interview - Bulls Eye Recruiting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the recruiting market picking up, I am screening more candidates than I have in a long time.\u00a0 A majority of the candidates I am talking to haven’t looked for jobs in years.\u00a0 I’m not blaming the candidates for being a little rusty on their interview skills.\u00a0\u00a0I must admit, I get a little frustrated with […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bulls Eye Recruiting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-09T10:00:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-05T17:51:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Will Thomson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Will Thomson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"7 Things to AVOID SAYING in a Screening Interview - Bulls Eye Recruiting","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"7 Things to AVOID SAYING in a Screening Interview - Bulls Eye Recruiting","og_description":"With the recruiting market picking up, I am screening more candidates than I have in a long time.\u00a0 A majority of the candidates I am talking to haven’t looked for jobs in years.\u00a0 I’m not blaming the candidates for being a little rusty on their interview skills.\u00a0\u00a0I must admit, I get a little frustrated with […]","og_url":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/","og_site_name":"Bulls Eye Recruiting","article_published_time":"2015-06-09T10:00:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-10-05T17:51:59+00:00","author":"Will Thomson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Will Thomson","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/"},"author":{"name":"Will Thomson","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#\/schema\/person\/c1b42101242632975e9205019cfbcd83"},"headline":"7 Things to AVOID SAYING in a Screening Interview","datePublished":"2015-06-09T10:00:11+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-05T17:51:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/"},"wordCount":840,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","keywords":["boss","Fired","Forgetting","Lies","LinkedIn","Most Popular","Resume","Will Thomson"],"articleSection":["Bulls Eye Recruiting Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/","url":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/","name":"7 Things to AVOID SAYING in a Screening Interview - Bulls Eye Recruiting","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2015-06-09T10:00:11+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-05T17:51:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/7-things-to-never-say-in-a-screening-interview\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"7 Things to AVOID SAYING in a Screening Interview"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/","name":"Bulls Eye Recruiting","description":"Change ME NOW!!!","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#organization","name":"Bulls Eye Recruiting","url":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Bulls-Eye-Recruiting-LOGO-v2blue.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Bulls-Eye-Recruiting-LOGO-v2blue.png","width":1401,"height":668,"caption":"Bulls Eye Recruiting"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#\/schema\/person\/c1b42101242632975e9205019cfbcd83","name":"Will Thomson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/79e67aec310b63ffda898f0e63adaae0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/79e67aec310b63ffda898f0e63adaae0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Will Thomson"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net"],"url":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/author\/will\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1601"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1601"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7339,"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1601\/revisions\/7339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseyerecruiting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}