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Hiring Job Interviews Screening Applicants Nastiness

I was interviewing a good candidate for our accounting department, but when I asked why he left his last job, he said it is not any of my business. I asked again, but he refused to discuss it. My instinct says to pass on him, but I wonder what you think.



When you ask a job related question and the response is that it is none of your business, this "good" candidate is not good for your business.

Although your instincts are telling you to pass on this individual, you can rely on more than instinct. In the first place, this applicant refused to answer an important job-related question. Secondly, even if there is a good reason for him to withhold this information, responding with something close to "mind your own business" is not appropriate.

It is important to remember that information an applicant withholds from a job interviewer is not likely to be positive. Whatever caused this person to leave his last job is probably a real problem, to the point that he could not put any positive spin on it at all. He might not realize it, but his stonewalling and telling interviewers to mind their own business will only cause potential employers to think the worst.

In job interviews, applicants try to show themselves at their very best and give potential employers an idea of what it would be like to work with them. Do you really want someone in accounting who refuses to account for what happened here and tells you to mind your own business?



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