ABSTRACT
When recruiters have narrowed down the stack of résumés to a manageable short list of a few candidates, they move on to the interview stage. Because interviews involve interactions and communication between people who do not know one another, they can easily be derailed by cultural differences. Indeed, culturally different candidates attempt to demonstrate that they are the best person for the job by behaving in ways that, in their home countries, demonstrate that they have the right attributes and skills for the position. The way these candidates behave and the words they use are interpreted differently by North American recruiters. In most cases, the interpretations are negative, and these candidates do not get the job, for reasons that are unrelated to their ability to perform the job.
