It is natural to be a bit tense during the interview process: As a candidate, you know virtually any small misstep can derail the process and send your resume to the shredder.

As the interviewer, you are more or less looking to complicate the process to ensure the candidate is answering questions truthfully.

Additionally, interviewers are looking for some very specific personality traits when interviewing managers for the hospitality and senior living industries. This is a social business, so they need people that embody that. They also need candidates that have the ability to cross-train between departments.

Keeping all of that in mind, here are some key problems that can derail even the most qualified of candidates from landing their dream job:

Exaggerating the Facts

This is a numbers-oriented industry. The executives need to hit labor percentages, food costs, beverage costs, inventory costs, etc. People that have been in the industry will know when numbers or even events have been exaggerated out of the realm of possibility. When a candidate is offering up unrealistic numbers in a specific area or debatable facts about an event, take the time to go into further detail about them to ensure these are not made-up events or numbers.

One Dimensional

Specifically, ask the interviewee to tell you a story about an event during their career. The goal here is not really the event, but the ability of the managerial candidate to tell the story and truly paint a picture and put you inside the event as they are telling the story. If they are unable to do this, imagine how they will be able to describe direction to their own staff. Being one-dimensional is truly a red flag that needs to be heeded.

Inability to Plan

in most hospitality fields, planning is everything. This holds true from a catering manager to the banquet manager to the housekeeping director. Virtually every department needs to be able to plan out not just days in advance but often weeks and months in advance of an anticipated big day or event.

Inability to Adapt to the Situation

Asking someone if their plans are set in stone or if they are willing to change is a great way to identify managers that are unwilling to adapt to situations that may arise. This works hand-in-hand with managers that are unable or unwilling to plan in advance. While operating “off the cuff” is not recommended, hence the planning point, we do need managers that can visualize solutions to problems that were not anticipated by anyone during the planning stages. .

Argumentative

When challenging a fact, event, or something from the resume, check to see how argumentative this person is being. When the individual is telling stories about their career to this point, are they often describing confrontations with workers or guests? If they are overly defending their position, it is generally a sign they are either lying or exaggerating as well as someone that may not be willing to bend to cooperate with other managers or even the guest when there is a problem with an event or contract.

They Don’t “Own It”

Learning about failed functions or failures during the previous or existing position is also a great way to learn about a candidate. Do they take ownership or are they placing all the blame on others? Are they trash-talking a former boss or employer or finding a positive way to describe what was an obviously negative situation?

Me Before Team

Above all else, the person that puts themselves above the operation, as well as his or her team, can be cancerous to any operation. Do they describe achievements as “I did this” or “My team and I” or “We” events? Regardless of one’s talent and abilities in this industry, every success is truly a team effort. Someone that is not willing to share the glory will surely sell his or her team members out down the line. By the industry’s very nature, one needs to be a team player.

If you are the manager interviewing, practice makes perfect. Do not expect to be able to spot these problems during your first interviews. Like anything in this industry, practice makes perfect. As a candidate, look through these problem behaviors to see if you identify with any of them. Acknowledging and addressing these issues can and will enable you to take your career to the next level.

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