17 very honest employers on the things they hold against potential employees.

Image: Post Grad/Fox.

Job interviews can be quite the balancing act. You want to answer questions thoughtfully and showcase your skills and suitability for a role, all while looking polished and not tripping over your feet as you enter/leave the room.

What makes the experience all the more daunting is the fact you have no way of telling what your prospective boss is thinking while this is going on. Are they judging you for wearing flat shoes? Did they notice you just used the word “great” twice in one sentence, or that you exaggerated just a little bit in the ‘Skills’ section of your resume?

Unless you’re a mind reader, you have no answers — but a recent Reddit thread gives some insight into the prejudices some employers hold against job candidates. Some of them are perfectly reasonable. Others? A little perplexing. Here are 17 of them.

1. Your email address

“If I see ‘@hotmail.com’ anywhere on their resume, I expect them to be stupid.” — William_Harzia

“Who in their right mind would send in their resume from their current work e-mail? Are you at work right now, using your employer’s time to apply to jobs? What if I want to extend an offer, but you’ve left the position and no longer have access to your work e-mail? Just… why?” — musicalrapture

2. Being late

“Tardiness. I’m blown away by people who do not show up on time for interviews, I had a friend who did that and he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t get a job.” -eDgAR-

3. Oversharing

"Telling me about how badly you need this job because of all the problems you have will get your application thrown in the trash. Sorry, but people with baggage tend to cause problems in the workplace and have a high turnover rate." — pinkiepieisbestpony

4. Bagging out your old boss

"If you outright talk shit on your employer or just bitch about your previous job, I won't hire you. Generally, the people that do this struggle with authority or dealing with co workers." — Alienthere

Watch: Mia Freedman on dealing with criticism from former employees. (Post continues after video.)

5. Resume faux pas

"Resumes over two pages long. Stupid or sexual personal email addresses. Multiple jobs in a short period of time." — QueenGila

"People whose name on their application is all lowercase instead of being capitalised has a considerably lower chance of getting hired. It is as trivial as that."

6. Your Facebook profile

"Having a public Facebook page with ghetto/racist/idiotic posts." — I_think_things

7. How you speak

"If you speak or write like an idiot you won't be hired." — mezolithico

"If you swear in the interview (or application process if you fill out one in person) you're probably not getting the job. If you can't clean up your language for an interview, you are probably not going to act any better around customers." - interestingtimecurse

8. Not treating Skype interviews like regular ones

"[During Skype interviews] dress and present yourself well. Turn off the TV in the background. Ask someone to watch your kids for the 20 minutes we'll be talking. If that's not possible and a kid bursts in the room during the interview anyway, I suggest not turning and yelling, 'Oh my God, I told you to leave me alone for five fucking minutes.' If you would not slurp from a bottle of Pepsi during a face-to-face, don't do it during this type of interview either. Same goes for eating or smoking or texting or picking your nose." — agorby00 (Post continues after gallery.)

9. Not dressing the part

"If you can't dress appropriately for an interview then you can't dress appropriately for work... Adios!" — Marginbuilder

"Shoes. WEAR NICE SHOES. Any cheap suit can fit and look decent, but you can't hide your scuff marked leather from me." - mattwaugh90

10. Your phone habit

"Unless you may have a literal life or death emergency, turn your phone off / on silent. If your phone goes off and someone isn't dying — note that's dying, not dead — chances are you've instantly dropped a few notches in the running." — Ya_Zakon

11. Getting... creative with your job history

"Don't bullshit your resume. Anyone with seniority in your industry will smell through that within the first 90 seconds of the interview, so don't even try." — koeikan

Watch: A white shirt is a fail-proof interview option. Here's how to style one. (Post continues after video.)

12. Your bag

"Do not come into my interview with a stupid, ugly bag. Women carry purses and even men, I expect to carry a satchel or a briefcase of some sort into the interview. These should not be labeled with 'Gears of War' on it or decorated with Hello Kitty. It is part of dressing up for an interview, make it work appropriate. I will not hire someone who walks in with the same blue Jansport backpack they went to school with." - TheDivineArchitect

13. Your handshake

"Limp handshake — terrible first impression." — RJIZZLE800

14. Highly visible tattoos

"I don't have anything against tattoos and even hired a woman recently with one on her wrist. What I am talking about is 'Gangsta Bitch' tattooed on your neck or wearing low cut tops with a nonsensical quote across your chest. I can't put you at the receptionist desk with 'Only God Can Judge Me' ringing your collarbone and I am not going to police your wardrobe." - Claudius82

15. Flirting

"If you think you got your job through flirting, you are going to think you can do whatever you want around the office. Plus, I can guarantee you the other women or men in the office will pick up on it and it will cause problems." — Claudius82

 16. Being unprepared

"Did you bring an extra copy or copies of your resume? Were you tying your tie in the reception room before I came out? Nothing gets me done with someone faster than when I can tell they are not ready. Ive even had someone ask to change in the bathroom before their interview." — Plushycthulhu

"People who don't even do basic research on the firm they're entering. Can't answer simple questions and look very unprepared." - fiftyshadesofsway

17. How you smell

"Use a breath mint and easy on the perfume/BO/general stank. If you're in my office and all I want for you to do is please, for the love of god stop talking so I can breathe without dry heaving, you're not going to get the in-depth interview that you might need to get the job."

Are you an employer? Do you have any prejudices to add?