The percentage of hiring managers who say the following applicant behaviors/characteristics would be a “major problem or deal breaker” during the interview:

• 67 percent — Dressed too provocatively;
• 58 percent — Is late for the interview;
• 49 percent — Talks negatively about past boss;
• 42 percent — Talks negatively about previous job;
• 40 percent — Cell phone rings during interview;
• 31 percent — Brings food or drink to interview;
• 27 percent — Dressed too casually;
• 18 percent — Acts/speaks overly casually;
• 15 percent — Asks about vacation/sick time prematurely.

(The source is SHRM’s survey of 500 hiring managers and recruiters.)

I am not saying that any of the items listed should not be deal breakers, but is there a story behind the action and should we gather more information before we make a decision?

I can come up with several reasons why someone could be late for an interview. I have actually missed a couple of airplane flights in my life even though I gave myself over an hour to make the 30-minute trip to the airport.

This was originally published on Mel Kleiman’s Humetrics blog.