As a recruiter, it’s not possible to preempt every murky situation you could come across during a job interview. The interview is a strategic opportunity to determine whether a candidate is a solid match for the company. But when an applicant’s response doesn’t fall into the range of what you expect to see in a good fit, how do you determine which outliers are deal breakers? We’re human, after all, and humans are uncannily bad at interpreting situations that fall outside of our range of personal experience.
Red flags are almost a guilty relief because they’re clear cut. I’m thinking of the candidate that insists he’s not a misogynist- he just doesn’t think women can handle complex math. But bad cultural fits are rarely that obvious. An orange flag is raised when there’s not enough information regarding the context of a response to reject a candidate. Clarification is needed to proceed with confidence.
Many orange flags can be minimized by mindfully structuring your hiring process. The interview process isn’t intended to generate “Gotcha!” moments. You want to set the candidates up for success.
Set the tone with the pre-screen call. Model transparency- you’re not hiding anything, and you want them to have all the information they need to walk away from the interview confident that they gave it their very best. Ideally, they’ll leave the interview with a favorable impression of the company- regardless of whether they receive an offer.
- Clearly explain who the company is and what the culture looks like.
- Outline the details of the role they’re interviewing for- the responsibilities and qualifications. What are you looking for, in an ideal candidate?
- Explain what each step of the interview process looks like- how many steps can they expect, who from the company will be involved, and how long each step will take.
- Share the questions you’re going to ask with them. Offer suggestions on how they can best prepare.
- Give plenty of room for them to ask questions.
- Follow up with an email reiterating the process.
- Touch base with the candidate before the interview, to answer any last-minute questions.
Stay in touch throughout the entire process! This role isn’t going to work out for all but one of the applicants. Deliberate communication models a culture of respect that extends to anyone who interacts with your company.
Even with a thoughtful hiring process in place, recruiters inevitably encounter a candidate that shares something during the interview that’s difficult to translate. Good interview questions draw out experiences that are indicative of future behavior. Orange flags are seen when a candidate offers information that makes it difficult for an interviewer to predict what their actions will look like, moving forward.
Here are three examples:
Orange flag: Repeatedly cancelling interviews, vague excuses for lapses in response times.
Why it matters: This could indicate that the candidate isn’t trustworthy or doesn’t respect others’ time. Or the candidate has had perfectly reasonable changes in circumstances that threw off their timing.
Workaround: Check references. Do former managers and colleagues describe the candidate as struggling with time management, or having a poor work ethic?
Orange flag: Job hopping. Many roles are listed over a short period of time.
Why it matters: It’s an issue of reliability. Will they stick around long enough to have an impact? Businesses can’t afford to retrain workers that abruptly leave. Or they left a toxic workplace or worked themselves out of a job with a progressive career path.
Workaround: Ask follow- up questions. What did they accomplish in their past roles? What motivated their departures? Check Glassdoor and other reviews to better understand their previous working situations.
Orange flag: Gaps in their resume.
Why it matters: It’s difficult to discern why a candidate wasn’t working without a straightforward conversation. Will they be a value add to the culture, or are they difficult to work with? Can they do their job? Or they left the workforce to raise children or care for an aging parent.
Workarounds: Ask follow-up questions that address your concerns and give them an opportunity to explain their experiences. What did they learn? Often soft skillsets learned during the gaps contribute to a diverse work culture.
There’s no such thing as a perfect candidate. The interview is a conversation, an introduction to a potential relationship. Orange flags indicate wobbles in a candidate’s past experiences. If they are moving forward with wisdom and perspective, they could be an ideal fit in your company’s future.
