Hiring Interns is not a small task, and shouldn’t be taken lightly. A lot of efforts and money is put into hiring these youngsters. The hiring team needs to be as alert and aware as they are while hiring for higher positions. The intern recruiting needs the same process and mindset as is used while hiring for other positions. It's important to note that companies hire people to work for them, and not just to increase the crowd.

Without a doubt, working with interns is different, and the people hiring them may not know how much experience they have (if any), but if you don't hire them, what's the point? Most of the time, employers look at what's good about a candidate, but it's also important to notice any red flags during the interview. If you ignore these signs by not taking the intern hiring seriously, you may face issues in the longer run.

This article will list those red flags that you must now ignore, and take cautionary measures while interviewing the interns.

1.    Loss of Interest:
If you see any candidate who is:

• Simply not interested in your company or product,
• If he seems bored and is not involved in the interview process,

that should give you an idea about his languid nature. It's a sign that they will not help you or your team members upon his joining the team. The best interns are those who actually want to be a part of your team and are keen to know your company and its culture.

2.    Money Minded:
There are candidates who are only interested in the pay cheque. By hook or by crook, they want to get an entry in to the company just so they have a job to go to and have salary in their account without really being productive. Such interns talk more about their salary while sitting for interview. If the learning or training offered by the company is not their priority then they are not going to be a good fit for your company, and you may let them go.

3.    Not prepared for Interview:
When you ask them about your company, and they give you a blank look, you must know that they have not come prepared for the interview. Interested and genuine candidates go through the website of the company to know more about it. They will definitely have their own set of questions, which is a positive factor. On the contrary, those who appear without making any efforts to know more about their future workplace, are not going to be a good addition to your team.

4.    Lack of Communication:
Candidates who can make appropriate conversation are more sought out than the ones who cannot. The most common question while interviewing is: Tell us about yourself. This includes everything, that’s mentioned ON their CV and OFF their CV. It's important for them to shed light on their qualifications and achievements, and tell about their personal interests and passions as well. Employees who just fumble and answer in one line fail to create an impact on interviewers and such candidates probably won’t solve your hiring purpose.

5.    Arriving late for Interview:
There is always some scope for coming late for interviews owing to traffic or personal tragedies or any natural disasters, but one cannot arrive late for all the interviews citing lame reasons. Such an attitude shows their carelessness towards the job, or most likely they simply don’t value others in their life. This may look small when its an interview but if employers ignore this trait, they may have to face bigger problems later.

6.    Concerned only about Self Goal:
It’s a well-known fact that when employees join an organization, they work to achieve organisational goals in alignment with their own personal and professional goals. Candidates who blow only their own trumpet while sitting in front of the panel irrespective of the requirements of the company, may not be considered good team players. This red flag must not be ignored at any cost since this would hurt the overall productivity of the rest of the team.

7.    Irksome Identity:
Candidate possessing a haughty body language are probably not really in dire need of the internship. If the hiring panel sees such attitude, they must feel free to let go of such candidates. Usually employees try to behave their best but there are always some who find their worth way more than the company’s requirements. Talking rudely, in an abrupt manner, using hand gestures very frequently while replying sloppily are some such signs of unpleasant people.

8.    Poor Dress-up:
Interview dress up is actually a whole segment in fashion world, still there are candidates who prefer coming shabbily for the interviews. Unkempt hair, ill fitted clothes, unclean shoes are a sign of insincerity towards the job role. After all, the company is going to offer you an internship that would possibly change your life. Respecting the decorum is an important trait that needs to be accessed while hiring interns. No one is saying to come suited booted, but continuous shabbiness would not be taken well in the long run.

Its quite agreeable that candidates do get anxious while getting interviewed and sometimes may make faults but that too shouldn’t be taken for granted. It’s good to sooth candidates, so they feel normal and will be able to perform better, but outright indiscipline is intolerable. Letting go of bad candidates won’t be a loss but keeping them may result in major losses in the long run.