Mumbai: Interview is a do-or-die situation for candidates. More than 50% of candidates fumble during job interviews – 59% of the employers interviewed stated that more than half of the candidates they interview every month bungle the most elementary questions in their interviews as per JobBuzz of TimesJobs.com study. JobBuzz.in recently undertook a study of 515 employers across the major employment generators such as IT, BFSI, manufacturing, retail, automobiles, telecom, dotcom and ITeS to gain insights that would help job seekers make the most of their interviews.
“This study shows a distinct lack of interest and diligence on the part of candidates preparing for their interviews. JobBuzz.in has been specifically designed to assist jobseekers ace their interviews by providing the most authentic interview questions, company reviews, job& salary data available. Jobseekers, especially those at entry-level and middle-level, need to wake up and take advantage of such services to prepare well for their interviews if they want to get selected and bag their dream jobs,” says TimesJobs.com COO VivekMadhukar.
Interviewees Make Basic Blunders
Failing to do research about the company and the role they have applied for is the most common blunder as stated by a whopping 72% of the 515 employers surveyed. Other careless mistakes include not appearing interested, passionate or engaged (as reported by 50% employers) and not dressing appropriately for the interview, say 43% of the employers referenced. Over-exaggerating and lying about achievements is another mistake job seekers tend to make during interviews, 36% of the employers said.
At the interview itself – the question on which candidates tend to slip the most is explaining current job responsibilities, according to 52% of the employers surveyed by JobBuzz.in.
Another 20% said candidates fumble the most when asked to explain how they are the best fit for the job with the company while 18% said candidates messed up when asked to explain their skill sets.
The remaining 10% employers pointed towards the date of employment and academic qualifications as the commonest factual errors that candidates make.
Sector-wise Insights
The study reveals that 77% of IT, telecom, ITeS and dotcom employers and 65% of automobile sector employers, admit that well over 50% of candidates make mistakes in interviews.
70% BFSI employers said that 40-50% candidates interviewed monthly tend to fumble in interviews while 72% employers in manufacturing and retail say that between 20-40% interviewees mess up basic questions.
Freshers Fumble the Most
Due to lack of experience and nervousness, entry-level candidates tend to fumble the most during interviews, agreed 44% employers in the study. 36% said middle-level professional made the most number of gaffes during interviews while only 20% employers said senior-level candidates made interview mistakes.
The JobBuzz.in study also revealed that the employer’s hiring manager spends 10-15 minutes on an average on interviewing a candidate and less than 5% of the candidates they interview every month are finally selected for the job.
About TimesJobs.com:
TimesJobs.com, India’s leading career and recruitment portal, is one of the best-selling online ventures of the Times of India Group. Conceived and launched in 2004, TimesJobs.com currently has a candidate database of more than 25 million registered job-seekers across levels and functions who clock-in over 60 million page views a month.
