Q&A: What's the worst you've encountered as a gatekeeper?

I've been asked another question that I would like to answer, "You've mentioned before that you've been a gatekeeper in some of your roles you've played in previous jobs - can you explain what that means and what are some of the worst candidates who have never made it past you?" Okay that's a simple enough answer, let me deal with it.

In any company, there's usually one person who will look at CVs of prospective candidates who apply for a job - if it is a small company it is usually the boss himself or herself but in big companies, they will always have a HR department to deal with this. However, in medium sized companies, sometimes there's a designated person who will be given the task of looking at the CVs, chatting with the candidate when they arrive for an interview and maybe even conducting some of the skill testing involved in the selection process. Note that this designated gatekeeper will be doing a full time job already within the company and will only be asked to take on this additional role when the company is hiring new staff. I stress that the gatekeeper is not the decision maker at the end of the day, but is nonetheless influential in the decision making process. If the big boss is unsure or not convinced about a candidate, the gatekeeper's opinion will often then be the deciding factor. Thus this is a process often associated with medium sized companies.

Do you know how to get by the gatekeeper?

So yes, this is a role I have stepped in to play from time to time over the years and there are a few things that instantly either give me a good impression or a bad impression. Sometimes, the impression is so good that I remember once running up to the boss saying, "OMG, you have to give this guy a job, I want this guy on my team, he is amazing, you will adore him!" Yeah, not all gatekeepers are bastards you know, we can actually give favourable recommendations if we do see a spark of brilliance in the candidate. But today, I'm going to deal with the opposite.

I think the biggest turn off is a poor command of English - perhaps I'm especially mean to British people here, but I'm like, look I'm from Singapore, I'm of Chinese ethnic origin (well, mostly, technically speaking I am mixed) and if I can speak English properly, your English had better be perfect as you're a white English person from England who grew up in England. I am usually a bit more forgiving if it is say a Russian or German person making a mistake in English, but if an English person makes a mistake in English - oh that's it, my impression of you is ruined. I get particularly peeved when I hear people make mistakes like "you was" - it tells me a lot about a person's education and upbringing when they make mistakes like that and it's the kind of thing that will leave a particularly bad impression during an interview.

Another major turn off if someone treats the interview way too casually - now this could be in the way they dress (you won't believe what some people have turned up to interviews wearing), but it could also be in the way they conduct themselves during the interview. There was this Australian guy (I still remember his name) who just kept going "erm" between every few words it just got unbearable. "In my last job, erm... I was working for erm... the general manager John who was erm... responsible for erm... all the erm... sales and marketing activities erm... in that local erm... branch." Maybe it was a genuine stutter but it gave the impression that he was so casual and relaxed about the whole conversation he wasn't making an effort to speak properly. Needless to say, I recommended against that Aussie.

A mistake to avoid is to try to make an effort but not go all the way - I'm talking about people who make a halfhearted effort to dress up for the interview. I am appalled when I see someone turn up in a suit jacket that does not match the trousers or wearing trainers to the interview. Trainers. Like seriously. What were you thinking? You think I wouldn't notice those trainers just because you also wore a shirt and tie? It's stupid little things like that which sends out the message, "I can't be bothered" to the gatekeeper and I already know that one of my readers Huichun is going to say that the gatekeeper shouldn't judge a candidate by his shoes. However, if you really need/want that job, is that a chance you're prepared to take or would you rather play it safe and wear the right kind of shoes to the interview?

Never treat the interview too casually.

Let me give you another example: one candidate had obviously bought a new tie for the interview. How did I know it was a new tie? The price tag was still on it. Cue face to palm. He clearly didn't check. I didn't say anything but it left me with a very poor impression of him - it was clearly a lack of attention to detail. If he couldn't even remove the price tag from his new tie, how was I going to trust him with an important document for a major client? Would he check his work before presenting it to the client? So you see, it's stupid shit like that which will work against you during an interview and if there's a lot of competition, you really don't want to miss out on the job because of something like that.

Oh and I get really quite upset with candidates who do not say sorry or thanks when they really need to - let me give you an example. I had a candidate phone me up at the last minute before an interview and asked if he could reschedule it because he couldn't make it to the office that afternoon - so I said fine, rescheduled everything for him and then realized, he didn't apologize for the inconvenience caused or thank me for my help. He just took it for granted that I was happy to help (it was my job, but that's not the point) - a simple, "sorry about this, thanks for your help" would have sufficed, but no, he said neither the words 'sorry' or 'thanks' - which immediately left me with a very bad impression. Like what did he think I was, an office manager or a secretary? For crying out aloud, it costs you nothing to use those nice words and you could end up paying a big price for not using those words by pissing off the gatekeeper. I don't want to work next to a rude c*** who can't even be asked to say thanks or sorry when necessary!

It costs nothing to use these words...

Perhaps it is a cultural thing - but in the UK, I tend to deal with candidates who are too relaxed, too informal and probably not taking the whole process seriously enough. I think that it is important to be very confident when going for job interviews, but at the same time, you must show the interviewer that you are enthusiastic, excited and interested rather than slip into a kind of casual behaviour that may be fine with friends on a Saturday afternoon, but not during a job interview with a gatekeeper. It is important to retain a certain level of formality especially if it is someone you are meeting for the very first time. I have hardly had any candidates who were nervous over the years - which amazes me, but perhaps that's a cultural thing. Or perhaps Europeans are better at hiding their nervousness.

So for example, I always turn the tables and ask the candidate at the end of the interview, "do you have any questions for me now?" A good candidate will always ask some quite intelligent questions at that point. A poor candidate would usually just say, "no, I don't have any questions." That's a pitfall you should avoid, not having any questions gives the impression that you're not that interested in the job or the outcome of the interview. Even a simple question like, "What is the next step in the interview process?", "Are you seeing many candidates for this job?" or "When will you let me know your decision?" is better than saying, "no, I have no questions."

Another mistake that some candidates make is that they talk too much about themselves - look, I'm not here to look for a new boyfriend or girlfriend, I'm not that interested in you as a person. I'm interested in what you could do for the company and how suitable you are for the role - so even if the gatekeeper asks you a question about your education or experience, always relate it back to the position you are applying for rather than just start rattling off long stories that I am just not interested in. You'll be amazed how many people make that mistake and I'll always interrupt them mid-sentence, to deny them the pleasure of finishing their stories in a less than subtle way to hint to them, "I am really not interested in what you're saying. I couldn't be less interested if I tried, so kindly shut up."

I've not mentioned CVs yet and the CVs that piss me off are those that ramble on for pages and pages - for crying out aloud, I'm not freaking interested in every minute detail. Just sum it up for me in two pages and I'll figure out what I need to know during the interview. A gatekeeper usually forms a first impression of the CV within the first 30 seconds or less by reading the first page, so for goodness' sake, put the best highlights of your career on the first page right at the top and tell me why you're the best - don't bore me with boring shit about your education which I really don't give a shit about. Sometimes I just wanna grab a red pen and circle the most mundane parts of their CVs and write the words, "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK ANYONE WOULD BE INTERESTED ABOUT THIS MUNDANE SHIT!" Seriously, if it's not impressive or interesting, leave it out - always keep your CV free of boring crap.

Don't bore me with the mundane details of your life, I'm so not interested.

Also, if you're writing a covering letter/email, please keep it brief and to the point. Don't try to tell me why you're so suitable for the job in the email - that's not going to sway my decision. I have actually had candidates who have written me very long emails arguing their case, telling me why they are so perfect for the job - on email!?! It's unreal. That's not how it works, if you've got an impressive CV, then you'll be invited in for an interview - nobody's going to real your bloody long email and give you a job on that basis. Pleading on email just comes across as desperate - never do it!

And lastly, when a candidate is rejected, it is often the gatekeeper who has the job of informing the candidate. We would do so formally in a fairly standard manner like so:

"Dear Ben,
Hello. Thank you for coming to see us last week, it was a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry to inform you that the position you have applied for has already been filled. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
With kind regards,
Alex"

Do you know how important gatekeepers are?

You'll be amazed how few people actually reply to that email to ask for feedback - look, you may not get it, the gatekeeper is not obliged to tell you why you were rejected. Perhaps you were great but there was just someone else better - or maybe you really did do something really stupid to jeopardize your chances and gatekeeper may be doing you a big favour by telling you where you went wrong. Always ask for feedback so you may at least learn from your mistakes. If there's some constructive advice I can give, I would always volunteer that information.

So that's it from me on this issue, I hope you've found it useful. Always try to get the gatekeeper on your side. If you have any other questions on the issue, please leave me a comment below. Thank you very much for reading!