While both verbal and non-verbal elements contribute to the rejection of a candidate during a job interview, non-verbal elements hold more significance, it said.
About 60 per cent of the candidates surveyed attributed their failure in job interviews to non-verbal elements including weak handshake.
About 40 per cent of the people said they have been told by the recruiter that they seemed disinterested during the interview, 32 per cent said they were rejected because they were late, while 30 per cent said making no eye contact with the recruiter during the interview led to their failure.
Nearly 25 per cent candidates could not get through the process because they were not dressed properly and 10 per cent said they were told that their weak handshake and bad sitting posture made their interview a disaster.
Of the verbal factors, fumbling in the interview was the most common reason for rejection, as claimed by 40 per cent of the surveyed employees. Nearly 30 per cent said they talked too much during their interview, while the other reasons were lack of knowledge about the company and badmouthing about the previous employer.
The survey that covered 700 working professionals to understand the common factors that led to rejection in job interviews, noted that more than half of them have faced at least five rejections at job interviews in their careers.
Overall, 70 per cent of those surveyed had faced rejection.
“Rejection feels bad and is particularly annoying when you know you will perform well on the job. Doing your research, and evaluating yourself and preparing in advance will minimise your chances of rejections,” Times Business Solutions Head of Strategy Nilanjan Roy said.
The chances of a successful interview are increased manifold, if the candidate carries a proper investigation into the company’s culture and interview methods along with a clear assessment of one’s own skills and competencies.
