SoloPoint Insights

When a Top Engineer Interviews Poorly – Are They Still a Viable Candidate?

We’ve all been in the situation where we have a candidate who appears absolutely stellar on paper – only to bomb during the actual interview. Instead of getting disheartened and moving on to the next candidate, you may want to consider whether or not you have a diamond in the rough.

Not all engineering candidates are aces at interviewing and in fact, some may find it incredibly painful. However, this does not mean that they won’t be the best person for the job. Before you make a decision, there are a few things to weigh.

Everybody Has Bad Days

Whether it’s a personal issue, or a candidate simply has difficulty during interviews and feels stressed, doesn’t automatically mean you should toss their resume out. Remember, we’re all human, and we all make mistakes.

Consider calling the candidate back in for a more informal interview and see if their performance doesn’t improve the second time around.

Assess Other Important Criteria

Take a look at the job skills the candidate has and whether or not they would be an asset to your company – even if they do struggle with interviews. Is this a position that is going to require interaction with the public or with clients? If not, even the most social awkward engineer will still be an asset.

It’s also a good idea to look at how a candidate will fit in with your corporate culture. Administer personality tests to help you determine whether or not the candidate would be a good fit and weigh the results before judging them too harshly on their interview performance.

A Few Other Things to Consider

We’re not perfect, we all know that and sometimes, a bad interview isn’t the fault of the candidate, but rather the interviewer. Were you have a bad day when the interview took place? Sometimes, if we are in bad moods, it colors situations quite differently from reality. It helps to step back and while you’re looking at what could have been wrong with them, think about whether or not you might have been having a bad time as well.

That being said, there will be candidates who have amazing resumes, but something feels off during the interview, or they bomb it so badly you simply can’t hire them. Don’t paint everyone with a broad brush, but do look at each interview on a case by cases basis. It would be a shame to miss out on hiring an excellent candidate, simply because they didn’t have a perfect interview.

Want more tips on finding the perfect candidate? The experts at Solopoint Solutions are here to help!

 

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