Pulse May 2017 | Page 54

IS THE FIT RIGHT? (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 50) INTERVIEW RED FLAGS Unkempt Appearance It’s common knowledge that you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Therefore, anyone meeting you for an interview, no matter how formal or informal, should dress their best. This means clean hair, good hygiene and business attire. “If someone shows up in shorts and a t-shirt or jeans and other casual attire and looking scruffy, I don’t even want to talk to them,” Flanagan bluntly says. “They didn’t care enough to put their best effort forward for a face-to-face interview, they are not going to care about our clients and staff.” Huffman sums it up perfectly: “If someone doesn’t bother to clean it up for an interview, they won’t bother to do it on a day-to-day basis.” Eye Contact Eye contact is important because it shows the candidate is trustworthy and professional. It helps to create a bond 52 PULSE ■ May 2017 between the interviewer and the interviewee, ensuring trust and rapport, which are essential for a potential employee. During the interview phase, Flanagan always asks herself: “Can they hold a nice conversation with me? Can they look me in the eye when they are talking? Seriously, I had a young lady come in and while she sounded good, she could not look me in the eye at any time. I couldn’t get past that awkwardness and didn’t hire her.” Great spa personalities need to be able to hold a respectful conversation because they’re in the client service business. Negativity About Prior Employer No matter how terrible their last job was, they shouldn’t spend their interview time with you discussing the short- comings of their current or former manager. Complaining about a current or former work environment could indicate they have a problem with structure or don’t work well with others. A consistent pattern of complaints is a huge red flag. “[An interviewee] who has nothing but negative things to