Interview Etiquette Gone Bad

As Jessica Stillman noted in yesterday's BNET1, young job interviewees are failing in basic interview etiquette -- you know: texting on their mobiles, chewing gum, casually dropping f-bombs; the sort of stuff us 40-somethings tried to get away with in our high school social studies classes.

One reader, bruce, chimed in, confirming Jessica's findings:

I've been interviewing for nearly a month to fill an outside sales rep position and a marketing manager position in a health care related company. These are both professional type position[s], yet one rep candidate had her cell phone on, it rang and she answered it!!

Another sales rep candidate showed up in black denim pants, a striped long sleeve shirt over a dark blue t-shirt with the collar open and no tie, Birkenstock-type shoes and grey socks, and, to top it off, a large tongue pin, or whatever they call those things... I've heard that Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers are motivated differently, but this is incredible. I crave to speak to someone who can actually converse in an intelligent manner without many "ya know" and "sorta" and "kinda."

Have an interview horror story of your own? Trouble with the youthful crowd of applicants? Share it.

(Image courtesy amypritchizzle via Creative Commons)