Interviewing the 'Unprepared' Job Applicant

Having just been through a round of interviews for a new employee who will be part of my direct staff, I have all sorts of fresh perspective on what makes for a great or a lame interviewee. While I do think there is potential for a reality television program showing hundreds of "bad" job interviews, in the immediate, I want to share some tips for how to deal with (and hopefully avoid) some of the big red flags I faced last week-namely the applicant who is completely unprepared.

While I do not think that I am perfect and I also believe that the interview process is just as much an opportunity for a potential applicant to determine if he or she even wants to work for a particular company or organization, I also know how much care and time I put into the process. There was a complete re-write of the job description prior to posting, carefully reading almost 40 cover letters and résumés, crafting pertinent interview questions and then having my coworkers edit and enhance them, and scheduling interviews with the most promising candidates. Surely, I am flawed as an executive and a human, but I did try to do my part to be as prepared as possible.

After welcoming one applicant who showed up a half-hour early-while we had just gotten started with the person scheduled right before-we asked the typical "get started" question: "Tell us what you know about our organization?" The answer (and I am being absolutely honest here): "Absolutely nothing." This person didn't even bother to do a quick, pre-interview investigation of our web site! We waited a moment to see if anything would be added and after the awkward silence, the applicant added: "I have never heard of you." I am sure you can imagine how that might set the stage for a less-than-stellar interview process.

Since part of the interview questions relate to the very culture and mission of our organization, an unprepared applicant comes across as apathetic at the least and conceited as well. How could this person possibly compete with someone who had done his or her homework and could relate some opinion, reaction or event enter into conversation about whether or not there might be a fit? Does he or she think that we won't notice because the skill set or resume' are so impressive?

For job applicants: do your homework. Even if you haven't heard of the company or organization prior to applying, do some research and be able to ask pertinent questions about the mission, products or services. It is the least you can do!

Also by this contributor:
Managing a Small Nonprofit is Like Managing a Small Business

Merging Nonprofits: Improve Efficiency by Reducing Overlap

Are Older Nonprofits Slower to Embrace Change?