TMI in a Job Interview Gets Icky!
In an effort to keep up-to-date on job interview recruitment trends, I frequently speak to hiring managers representing all industries. In recent conversations, I’ve heard some nightmare stories regarding personal issues job candidates have shared during an interview. These epic, very entertaining stories of candidate’s confessions are broadcast among hiring managers far and wide. Below are some simple tips to prevent you from becoming one of these legendary stories.
The job interview is not a conversation with an old friend or a “gab-fest” with a potential new “boss-friend”. It’s a professional conversation to determine whether a candidate’s professional skills fit the criteria and culture of the organization they are applying with. It’s an assessment and evaluation to ascertain how the candidate’s qualifications align with the company’s core competencies assigned to a specific job description.
In recent years employment workplace trends have evolved to include very casual, laid-back office environments featuring specialized, relaxed work spaces. Napping areas, beer keg Fridays and pets in the office along with unassigned office seating have lured many a job candidate. Forget the office attire as these newer work environment trends allow flip flops and yoga pants to encourage employee comfort in hopes of increased productivity. No matter how kind the hiring manager appears, how nice the in-office coffee bar is or how many ping pong tables you’ve spotted in the office, never veer into the TMI zone! Disclosing too much personal information is a sure way to rapidly end an interview.
Your personal information and life details are irrelevant to your ability to perform the duties of the job you are seeking. The basic rule of thumb for all job candidates is as follows: If it’s not relevant, don’t share it!!!
It is crucial to keep in mind that during a job interview you are having a discussion with a total stranger. Please don’t relay information regarding your very messy divorce, your rotten in-laws, your child’s criminal record or your recent gastrointestinal surgical journey. This is personal, confidential information. It is awkward and can make an interviewer very uncomfortable quickly approaching the “icky” level. Icky is defined as something that is distasteful and offensive to our sensibilities. Icky revelations are felt personally in our guts, making us want to grimace and once the “icky” level is reached, you are finished! The “icky” candidate never progresses even if they are a genius.
When a job candidate divulges financial struggles or discloses they are drowning in student debt red flags rise and this can send alarm bells off in the hiring manager’s mind especially if you are applying for a job that deals with finances. It may bring up questions regarding whether a candidate can competently do a financial job if they can’t manage their own financial house.
No interviewer wants to hear, “I’m really nervous.” Everyone in a job interview has some level of nerves at play and you are not special. If you add a nervous laugh to your nervousness, then that’s a double whammy. (Nervous laughter expressed at inappropriate times during the interview could approach “icky”!) This could show a lack of confidence and the hiring manager may question whether the candidate possesses the confidence to adequately perform the job.
At times the interviewer may ask whether the candidate has reliable transportation. This is not an invitation to comment on your worn-out vehicle, your child’s school schedule or the fact that you are a single parent and need to juggle it all on your own. The transportation question is a simple yes or no. You either have reliable transportation or you don’t. It’s simple as that.
If there is a medical accommodation that is required to perform the job, the candidate can state it briefly. They do not need to go into a detailed medical history with the interviewer. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects employees and prospective employees against discrimination for disabilities. If the candidate is applying for a job where the disability would make it impossible to perform the job, the interviewer may ask the candidate to demonstrate or explain how they would perform the task in question. Generally, however, most interviewers will not inquire about any disability.
Many people today have a side-hustle they participate in after-work hours. It’s always a bad idea to ask a hiring manager when the workday is over because you need to get to your side-hustle! This is especially egregious if the side-hustle involves the same type of work as the job being applied for. Gees, this seems like common sense but I’ve personally seen this. If a candidate has a side-hustle that is so important, will they fully engage one hundred percent in the job they are interviewing for?? The interview is over!
It is a given that personal aspects of former managers or work colleagues should never be discussed. A gossipy nature is never good form. Especially when the candidate uses a conspiratorial tone like a big secret is being shared for the hiring manager’s ears only. We all know that tone, right? Organizations don’t want to hire a gossipy, nosy Mrs.Glady Kravitz! A gossipy, nosy employee is a sure-fire team disruptor and a proper hiring manager always wants what is best for the entire team’s harmonic balance and function. The gossipy candidate also harkens in the manager’s mind words spoken long ago from the manager’s Mom... if the candidate speaks badly about their friends, managers and colleagues, what will they say about you!
Unconscious bias is intertwined in all job interviews particularly a face to face interview. It can also occur in phone screens. If there is human to human communication, bias can rear its head. Unconscious bias is defined as any prejudice or unsupported judgements in favor of or against persons, groups or things when compared to another. This bias can benefit some persons while others are penalized.
Bias in the job recruitment arena is very real and that is why there is a plethora of information regarding how it affects companies and employees. Organizations are attempting to decrease this bias and are utilizing automated recruitment options as much as feasible and possible. These options eliminate the human contact component thus decreasing the inherent unconscious bias. Bias reduction training sessions are also held in many organizations to educate and more fully understand this issue making fairness amongst applicants a paramount objective.
Unconscious bias is something we all possess. The candidate and the hiring manager both come to the interview with their previously held beliefs, culture and mores’ they were raised with. It’s part of being human. That is why it is imperative that a job candidate remember that they do not know the hiring manager or his/her background. The job candidate does not want to say or do anything that will trigger the unconscious bias in the hiring manager. Why give a manager the opportunity to form a bias when it is just as easy not to share any information that is not relevant to the job being applied for.
The job interview requires that candidates share their professional skills and talents that will be assets to the company. It’s an illustration of how their special, unique professional gifts will augment the organization’s culture while meeting the core competencies of the job. Your job in the job interview is to explain to the manager exactly what you “bring to the table”, persuading the manager that you should be offered the position. This should be the candidate’s only focus.
The old adage of not discussing religion, politics and the economy (unless the position calls for it) will serve job candidates well in any job interview as well as omitting any personal information. Too much information (TMI) can quickly lead to the aforementioned “icky” state and that is never a good thing. Remember, just as the toothpaste cannot be put back into the tube, words spoken during a job interview cannot be erased in the hiring manager’s mind.
I offer a completely free 30 minute introductory job interview coaching session. Contact me today to prepare for your tomorrow!