What would be the one thing that put you off hiring someone?

[greyrabbits]

Of all the things that would put you off giving someone a job, what’s the one thing that’s a definite no thanks.

Because the public sector generally judge people for / discriminate against fortheir gender / sexual preference etc etc???

why not just hire people who aren’t wankers? Why do you need the rainbow lanyard to say you’re not a bigot? Just don’t hire bigots. Simple.

Being Gen Z

Haven’t hired for some years but rejected ones that had juvenile email addresses. The ones that turn up smelly. The ones that pull out a kind of ‘don’t you know who my father is’ act and the little males who act like they’ve nothing to learn, in fact they could show you a few things 🤢

I don’t see anyone making sweeping judgements about gay / trans people on here, I have nothing against them, it’s just if they feel the need to write that on a job application they are going to be a pain in the backside. It’s wholly irrelevant whether you’re gay or not in the workplace, so why are you telling me about it? Presumably because you want to bring that aspect of yourself to work, instead of just bringing your ability to do your job.

The rainbow flag is now highly contested, it wasn't until it became primarily about the T, I feel extremely threatened by its hostility to women and girls

I’m truly amazed at the animosity just against candidates who state their pronouns. Hell will freeze over before I do it myself as I disagree with adding linguistic cognitive load to other people for something so completely petty and anti feminist, but I have a few colleagues and bosses who do, and most of them are good experienced employees that anyone would be lucky to have. I guess that’s what prejudice does - cuts you off from excellent candidates.

Aside from all the obvious things like lack of competency, apprentice vibes or unkindness to the receptionist (I always ask their opinion).

Wow!!

You may not see it... I certainly do

Maybe people say they're LGBT in the interview or application to avoid being hired by people with some of the views shown here... I might try that next time I decide to move jobs, actually. Also, maybe I'll eat a few more buns, get a dye job and a tattoo for good measure.

Really? Cripes!

Many years ago I read a CV with the email address hymencrusher@somehost.

He didn’t get the job.

poor hygiene definitely.
Do people actually come for an interview and put their feet on the desk ? That’s shocking 😮

Why?

I have previous (ahem..and ongoing...) mental health issues. If my employer had your attitude, I wouldn't have had a job for the past 12 years. They gave me a chance, and I'll always be grateful they did because it got me back into work after being too we well to work for several years. If they hadn't god knows where I'd be now. I feel sad I could have been written off without being at the very least give ln a chance to prove my worth.

Also in regards to hair colour- again I've had the same job for 12 years and basically every hair colour under the sun (except green for some reason 🤔🤣) and I can honestly say it's had zero impact on my ability to do my customer facing job. In fact I actually currently have quite normal looking blonde hair and disappointingly am not suddenly magically better at my job! 😭😫

I have always prioritised any candidate who has been successful in a role for 12 years. That kind of loyalty and commitment means way way more to me when hiring than any of the other issues mentioned. On the flip side, someone who has had 6 job moves in the last 6 years on their CV is a major turn off.

Timekeeping

Poor spelling in the emails/correspondence to arrange the interview

Rude/inconsiderate/inappropriate towards staff. Turning up to the interview unwell.

You know, I started to read mumsnet after quitting Facebook years ago, it's my doom scrolling place.

But this thread is making me realise just how biased and absolutely unnecessary some posters are. Not all of course, but the majority.

Sigh.

Mumbling. If you haven't the energy to open your mouth and talk properly, you won't be able to cope with the pace of the job.

Well, this thread is certainly eye opening. for the record, we don’t hire people who

• do not listen
• make up qualifications
• are racist, sexist, abelist or discriminatory in any other way. that includes them treating our gay, trans and nonbinary colleagues with anything other than respect

we do hire people who are

• single parents
• have career gaps due to caring responsibilities
• have disabilities (and we consult with them to make sure all their needs are addressed)
• have career gaps due to illness
• are a minority
• are pregnant

We all have pronouns. If you don’t want to state your preferred ones, that’s fine as well, but we expect you to respect others. we also provide extremely generous parental leave, flexibility to fit around caring responsibilities, part time, hybrid working, etc You choose - but we do not tolerate discrimination.

You know what puzzles me about this thread?
I am retraining (after a successful previous career, with relevant new experience and education) and getting even an entry-level paid position is extremely hard, without any of the potentially off-putting factors mentioned here. Note that I am not saying 'well-paid', just 'paid' position as in not a volunteering job.
My DS is looking for his first job after Uni and experiencing the same.
And yet, apparently lots of less than deserving candidates (by the recruiters' own admission) are getting interviews. If there are so many things that are not right about them, they can't all surely have a brilliant CV that beats everyone else's to go through to the interview stage?
Just how??

@AnonAnora there are so many people out there looking for jobs…. we have hundreds for every job advertised. go down to about 15-20 for zoom interviews. Then 5-10 for in person interviews, 5 for final task.
We are a very attractive employer though , excellent pay and working conditions (with pronouns ;)

A monotone voice - always suggests a monotone brain.

At the time no, but hiring one of these people was a mistake as they couldn't cope with the role at all and quit after a few months of struggling through, during which we gave them massive support, a reduced workload, reduced expectations etc.

OTOH, I have worked with other people with MH problems which has not been an issue at all. So it wouldn't be a case of 'no I would not employ this person'. But having struggled with my own MH at times I certainly wouldn't mention it in an interview.

Poor personal hygiene. I’d struggle with someone with BO or bad breath.
Apart from that, I couldn’t care less whether someone is fat, thin, tattooed or pierced. Provided they can do the job, that’s all that matters. People come in all sizes and characteristics.