Based on their behavior, you sometimes have to wonder if interviewees even want a job. After listening to ill-prepared answers and observing odd behavior, you might want to ask just one question, “Why are you here, wasting my time?”

You’re not alone if you can’t stand to interview applicants who don’t dress appropriately or chew gum. We’ve found some additional pet peeves reported by human resource professionals and employers of all kinds.

Interviewers don’t enjoy candidates who:

• Are late.
• Interrupt when you’re talking.
• Answer a simple question with a 10-minute answer.
• Have never made a mistake in their lives. (It’s always someone else’s fault.)
• Talk badly about their previous employer.
• Don’t bother or can’t seem to follow instructions, like where to park.
• Are rude to receptionists.
• Use the wrong company name on the cover letter.
• Are egotistical, not authentic.
• Ask about salary before they’re offered the position.
• Act like they don’t care whether or not they get the job.
• Don’t follow up with a “thank you.”

How often do you experience these annoyances? How do you deal with them?

When that nervous job applicant walks into your office, it’s not enough to just ask questions and take notes. There are so many personality quirks, body language giveaways and clues to a candidate’s skills or lack thereof that you could be missing. Taking stock of a potential employee’s complete package is a better way to evaluate a good fit for your company.

Six Other Things to Look for in Job Candidates

Do they pay attention to the little things? We’ve heard of flawlessly-produced resumes followed by a thank-you email full of errors and misspellings. Or a cover letter addressed to the wrong company. A telephone message returned more than 48 hours later. Even of candidates parking in a handicapped space. Lack of attention to these details is an indicator of things to come.

Are they polite? An HR manager we once knew followed every interview with a quick walk through the company’s offices, asking receptionists and others who had contact with the candidate how they were treated. She often heard that an applicant who was exceedingly polite to her was surly to the staff.

Are they engaged? Showing an interest in the position duties, the company culture, the department, and the person they’ll report to are good signs. An interviewee who has absolutely nothing to say when asked if they have any questions is either unprepared or uninterested.

How are their phone manners? Telephone interviews are more common these days. While not as formal as an in-person interview, serious candidates will take them seriously. That means no taking calls at a party or the mall, no laying in bed for the call, and definitely no munching, crunching, drinking or smoking.

Do they follow instructions? Do you offer interviews to candidates who do not provide a cover letter, even though your advertisement asks for one? Then why are you surprised when they become employees who do not follow instructions properly?

Are they on time? This is a no-brainer. Unless there was an accident or other unavoidable circumstances, there is no excuse for being late to an interview.   Conversely, it’s rude to show up for an interview more than 10 minutes early. Candidates who are too late or too early think their time is more important than yours.

When you pay attention to a job applicant’s complete package, you may find the real truth about whether or not you should hire them. And don’t forget to conduct thorough pre-employment screening for background information you need to make the right hiring decision.

There are a lot of talented, unemployed people out there. People with skills, talent, and years of experience. Some have been looking for work for 3, 6, 12 months now—or longer. And if you’re hiring employees, prepare to be inundated with resumes and applications.

Before you start the hiring process, here are a few tips that might make it more pleasant for the folks you’re going to be interviewing. “But wait,” you might be thinking to yourself. “Why should I care about whether it’s pleasant for THEM? What about ME?”

It is about you. You see, when you treat people well, they’ll remember. They’ll probably tell their spouses. They might even tell their siblings, or their friends. But if you treat people badly, they’ll remember a lot longer. And they’ll definitely tell their spouses, along with their parents, their friends, the cable guy, their hair stylist—they will tell more people than you care to know that you are a bad person, they had a rotten experience with your company, and it doesn’t deserve anyone’s business.

So hire politely. Here’s how:
1. Remember the person you’re interviewing is an individual. Call them by name, make eye contact, and smile. Make every attempt to connect with the applicant—even if you find it difficult to warm up to them. They might be really nervous. Be kind.

2. Don’t rush. You don’t have to make the interview last for 3 hours, but don’t make the job applicant feel unworthy of your time by rushing through it. Relax, take a breath, and pace your questions.

3. Listen. Make notes, ask follow-up questions, nod—in other words, give signals that you’re listening. The candidate can tell if you’re not.

4. Be honest. If you have many applicants for a single position, it’s okay to let the applicant know that there is competition. But don’t wield it like a weapon to scare him or her. You might find out how much they want the job and what they’ll do to earn it—and isn’t that the purpose of the interview?

5. After the interview, do what you said you’d do. If you tell the candidate, “We’ll get back to you in a few days,” then do it. If you tell the candidate, “It’s looking good; I’ll call you with next steps,” then do so. Each person who takes the time to come in and talk about your business deserves at least what you say you’ll do—even if you haven’t made any decisions yet. It’s okay to say, “I know I said I’d call you, but unfortunately I don’t have any news yet.”

6. When the hiring decision is made, call the interviewees who did not get the job. If you don’t have time to do it, then have someone else call. Why? It’s the polite thing to do.

7. And when you reject an applicant, don’t give them the reasons why. Don’t give into requests to talk about it. Just tell them you appreciate their time and interest in your company, but you hired another candidate.