In its latest survey, industry trainer Recruitment Juice asked recruiters to comment on different aspects of the recruitment lifecycle, focusing in particular on their perceptions of candidates. Some of the responses were interesting. When surveyed on the physical appearance of a candidate at interview, recruiters show their political correctness (mostly), with 43.5% saying that looks were irrelevant. However, one respondent kindly commented: “You would think that looks would not come into play but it certainly seems so.”

And once a candidate gets an interview, 49% of you feel that hygiene is vital, with one respondent going so far as to succinctly remark that “smelly drunks don’t do well at interview”. (A phrase involving the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is probably called for here…)

Flirting with the interviewer, being overly ambitious or serious were also deemed either a bit daft or rather silly by most recruiters. One recruiter summed it up perfectly though: “Chew the gum and eat a mint BEFOREHAND. Yes, be ambitious. Build rapport, be friendly, recognise gender — but don’t flirt. No smile would be awful, but humour needs careful handling.”