CHICAGO, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Taking a call, hugging the interviewer and forging a diploma made it to a list of worst interview blunders for 2010, a U.S. career research firm said.
In a nationwide survey of more than 2,400 hiring managers, CareerBuilder said Wednesday the most outrageous mistakes made in interviews last year included discussing how an affair caused a previous job to end, having a friend interrupt the interview to ask "how much longer?" and wearing a hat that said "take this job and shove it."
The most commonly named pet peeve of job interviewers was someone answering a cellphone or texting during the interview, cited by 71 percent of hiring managers, CareerBuilder said.
An equal share of hiring managers in the survey (69 percent) indicated inappropriate dress and appearing disinterested were the most common mistakes.
Acting arrogant, speaking disrespectfully about past employers and chewing gum also ranked high on the list of common mistakes.
Singled out in the outrageous category was "Threw his beer can in the outside trashcan before coming into the reception office," CareerBuilder said.
The survey involved 2,482 interviews taken by Harris Interactive between Nov. 15 and Dec. 2 last year.
The survey results carry a margin of error of plus and minus 1.97 percentage points.
