12 reasons you shouldn't hire that salesperson you're interviewing. Hiring is hard but if you see any of these things during the interview, run for the hills. And especially if you see combos of any of these 12, quickly and respectfully reject the candidate. • They can't get their tech to work. Come on. You've had how much time to figure out if your tech works? • Can't talk to former bosses. They get squeamish when you ask if it's okay to speak with several of their former bosses. • They ask few questions. Or the questions they ask are just lame. • You're still not sure. You've met them several times and you're still not sure if they're a fit. • They're late. And they've been late to a few other interviews too. • It's clear they did little research. If this is the effort they're putting in now, it's downhill from here. • They flat-out tell you they're money motivated. They're just trying to tell you what you think you want to hear. • Lack of energy. Let's face it: you can't give people personality transplants. If they lack energy DURING the interview, what's their normal state? • Answers lacking examples. They seem to know how to answer the interview questions but when pressed, have no examples of when they did the thing. • Unprofessional Behavior: The candidate makes an off-color joke or is dressed inappropriately. • Inability to Take Responsibility: They fail to take responsibility for past mistakes or failures nor do they have any learning lessons from past failures. • Inability to Handle Criticism: The candidate becomes defensive when receiving constructive feedback during the interview. Some of you might like to explain away many, if not all, of these observations and make excuses to hire the candidate. Go right ahead...at your own risk. I've learned these lessons the hard way. Interviewers need to remember that sales candidates are acting on their BEST behavior during the interview. So if you see any of these behaviors, you're seeing their BEST self. It's all downhill from there.
