In business we call it blocking and tackling.  If you don’t get the basics right then nothing else matters.  Instructions to candidates are usually viewed the same way.

This could be as simple as what time your phone interview is, what format to submit your resume in, or how long your presentation in the interview should be.  As a recruiter I am very clear with my instructions.  I let people pick their own day and time for the phone interview through Acuity Scheduling.  They then get an email confirming the day and time of the phone interview.  Finally, I email them the day before reminding them of the interview.  Not only do I do that but I also include a four page document on the position they are interviewing for.  Lastly, I even tell them the first question I will ask them and that I want them to go over their resume and walk me through it including why the left each position.  But guess what?… Many people are still caught off-guard.

Look at it this way, what if you invited someone on a date to an Auburn vs. LSU game and they wore their Alabama jersey?  You would think they so idiot.  Or how about if you invite them to a nice restaurant and they show up in a tank-top, shorts and running shoes.  I would start to think that they are lacking the plastic thingy to keep their six-pack together or they really didn’t give much of a crap about me.  Same way with interviews.

You know who doesn’t follow the rules?  Selfish people.  They think rules are for other lesser-minded, less-educated or lower-skilled people.  Here is a shocker… most people would rather not work with some narcissistic tool, so we try to screen them out in the interview process.

Al

Passive inactivity, because you have not been given specific instructions to do this or to do that, is a serious deficiency.
George C. Marshall