A Hiring Manager's primary responsibility is to bring in people who will be a good fit for the company they are working for. Below are three very common red flags that can knock you out of contention for an open job position immediately. It is not just enough to know what these red flags are but why they are red flags. By fully understanding why potential employers find these concerning you can not just change your behavior but also be able to approach these subjects in a positive way during the job interview.

No Experience:

Having no experience is the classic chicken or egg problem. You can't get the job without experience but you can't get the experience with out the job. For entry level positions or pretty general skill positions experience usually isn't necessary and they are looking more at the attitude of the person. For more specialized positions most employers will not look at a resume unless someone has experience. For people with a work history but no experience in a specific field they are applying to transferable skills become very important. Employers prefer applicants with experience doing the job they are looking to fill or having very similar skills to what they need because it is an indicator of being able to do the job and hit the ground running.

Been Fired:

This is a pretty obvious red flag. If you have been fired from a previous position a potential employer is going to be concerned. This may indicate you bringing some real problems to their company. Where you fired because you did a bad job? Because you couldn't show up to work on time? Did you steal from them? Because you couldn't get along with your fellow employees? Is it possibly something worse? Your potential employer is afraid that if they hire you those are now their issues to deal with. It is just much easier for them not to hire you.

Job Hopper:

Unless you work in an industry that historically has high turn over rates like hospitality, restaurants and others and have had a few positions over the past two years this will be a concern to a prospective employers. Whether you keep on leaving positions by choice or if you are fired it will still be a concern. When an employer hires someone they want them for the long haul. It costs a lot of money to interview, train and get that person up to speed. An employer does not want to have to do it all over again in a few months.

Learn more about this author, David Clemen.
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