It’s a sad but familiar story.
You find the perfect person for the job. They’re qualified, experienced and within budget. Boxes ticked. As time goes by you let your client fall more in love with them, only to have them pull out at the eleventh hour.
Why? Because the ‘perfect person’ never cared as much as you did. You were blinded by their profile on paper and missed the red flags.
Apart from having lost time and a placement, you’re now back to square one with a client offside. And to make matter’s worse, hindsight shows you how it all could have been avoided…
So what are the signs you’re being strung along?
1. Poor communication:
Not answering calls, ignoring emails, going MIA for days. As well as being incredibly frustrating, this kind of behaviour is totally avoidable in today’s technological age. Excuses, excuses… call them out.
2. Obsession with money:
Of course the package has to be appealing, but watch out for people who can’t stop talking dollars, cents, pounds and pence. They might just be sizing up their market value to negotiate a pay rise.
3. Bad diary management:
Showing up late, rescheduling last-minute, ‘getting held up’. Clumsy organisation means their heart’s not in it.
4. Lack of questions:
We all like a Yes Man. Jim Carrey showed us that saying “yes” more leads us to happiness. But be wary of a candidate that says it too quickly without probing for details. How can they be passionate about something they know so little about?
5. Careless reaction to feedback:
Praise doesn’t excite them and criticism doesn’t faze them. If they’re not fussed about their performance, they’re not fussed about getting the job.
6. Serial interviewing:
If their CV is flying all around town and every finger’s dipped in a different pie, what’s driving the urgency behind the job hunt? Find out what’s motivating them and make sure your job spec is more than just a Get Out of Jail Free Card.
7. Hesitance to meet you:
You invite them for coffee and they can’t find the time. You are the gatekeeper to their career, so why wouldn’t they jump at the chance to win you over? And more alarmingly, who turns down a free coffee?
Be sure to keep your time-waster radar switched ON at all times, even if you’re sure you’ve found the one. If you’re working with a candidate who is showing one or more of these signs, why not call them out on it early and save yourself the heartache?
Image: Shutterstock
