The basics that your guidance counselor may have forgotten to mention.
I recently wrote a post on interview skills for Interviewers and interviewees, 10/10 TIPS FOR INTERVIEWERS AND INTERVIEWEES. This post focuses on small but important things for people being interviewed that are easily overlooked.
Over my career I have likely interviewed more than 1000 people, these are some of the more common things people have missed.
- Don’t be late – Be 10 to 15 minutes early, giving yourself time to arrive, relax, and review your notes.
- Don’t go to the wrong place – Nothing kills your chances of a new job more than not paying attention and going to the wrong place. It happens more than people think, I once had a person arrive for an interview who was supposed to be at our competitors next door. He missed the signs on the building and was quite upset because we didn’t know anything about his interview … by the time we got things figured out, not only was he in the wrong store, he was also late.
- When you arrive for an interview be polite and respectful of the receptionist and anyone that you meet at the company – Many applicants fail this very basic test, chemistry is very important in any company and how people treat existing associates is noticed.
- Don’t bring your mom, your spouse, or your friends – I once had someone bring their mom into an interview and worse yet she answered all of the questions; another person left the interview and went to get his wife from the car because he figured that she would never believe how much money he could make working for us … neither one got the job. I have noticed some students who have brought friends, but do yourself a favour … everyone except you should wait in the car.
- Don’t forget to dress appropriately – While is it possible to over-dress, the most common error is to under-dress for an interview. The best way to know how to dress is to visit the organization or check out their online footprint. Also, take the time to watch your personal grooming as well; take the extra time because you will be judged on your appearance whether it is fair or not.
- Don’t forget to have a shower – Cologne or perfume doesn’t equal being showered, it is a small thing, but failing to heed this lesson can leave the wrong kind of impression.
- Don’t wear a hat – I can’t think of a single time where this might be appropriate, no matter how good it looks on you, do yourself a favour and leave it at home.
- Don’t bring a coffee – It’s a small measure of respect for your interviewer, like (5) you will be remembered, but not in a good way. Some people have suggested it’s okay to bring a coffee as long as you bring one for the interviewer, I think it is still something to avoid, its just awkward and not the way you want the interview to start.
- Don’t complain about how messy the interviewer’s office is – If you find yourself criticizing anything about the interviewer, their office, or the company you are applying for; you likely aren’t going to get the job.
- Don’t bring up that you lost your last job for … punching your manager … drinking on the job … stealing … that you can only do one thing at a time … I have had people who were applying for jobs or being interviewed tell me all of these things and more about themselves. When applying for a job or being interviewed, remember to focus on the positive things in your experience unless specifically asked about something negative.
- Don’t complain about how miserable your last boss was – In small to medium sized towns and cities this can inadvertently hurt you, particularly in smaller communities where everyone seems to know everyone else. Remember interviews should be positive situations, bringing up anything negative isn’t likely to help you.
- Don’t complain about why you hate working – I have had people tell me they “hate” working in an interview, it is impossible to “spin” that into anything positive. Be careful about any kind of complaining, it may say more about you than you realize.
- When they ask, what is your greatest weakness; the question really is, why shouldn’t we hire you? I have had so many people tell me absolutely horrible things about themselves because they have answered the question without considering the answer. My advice is to pick something that you know has hindered you in the past, but then tell the interviewers how you’ve overcome it. I use my fear of “public speaking” when talking to a room full of people, at one point in my life I was terrified of speaking in front of a group. I took a course on public speaking and was able to overcome this fear.
- Don’t chew gum – Surprisingly this is something more older applicants do more often than younger ones. Chewing gum in an interview is a major league sign of disrespect.
- Don’t lie about your skills – It’s hard to believe that people would do this, but it happens: Things like saying you are a master at Excel and then being found lacking during a quick test. Focus on things you know and can do.
- Don’t forget to only have positive references – This one happens quite often as well: having references gives you a very strong competitive advantage … but only when they know you are using them. It is embarrassing for everyone when a prospective employer calls for a reference and the reference isn’t aware or worse yet says something negative about the interviewee.
- Don’t be too nervous – It is okay to be nervous before an interview – EVERYONE IS – even the people doing the interview sometimes. RELAX, LISTEN TO THE QUESTION, THINK FOR A MOMENT, ANSWER THE QUESTION, and keep moving forward. Most people will not know you are nervous unless you tell them, so be careful not to fidget or show any obvious signs of nervousness, like biting your nails.
- Don’t swear – There are some places where swearing might be appropriate, but an interview isn’t one of them.
- If you take your coat off, don’t forget to empty the pockets of loose change – This is one of the sneaky ones that can really hurt you in a competitive interview. I had an interview at the Royal Bank head office in Toronto when I had just graduated from University. The interview had gone really well until I took my folded up coat off of my lap at the end of the interview and everything fell out of my pockets onto the floor. PS. I did not end up having a career in banking.
- Don’t cross you legs and leave them for 30 minutes, unless you want to fall across the interviewer’s desk – True story, I didn’t notice my leg had fallen asleep during a particularly long interview (that I had aced, by the way), and when it was over, I stood up and I across the interviewer’s desk, my interview score slid into the wall and I did not get the job.
- Don’t forget to sit forward in your chair, and to watch your body language – Body language is as important as your spoken language, LOOK INTERESTED, LISTEN TO THE QUESTION, LOOK AT EACH INTERVIEWER IF THERE IS MORE THAN ONE; sitting with your back straight creates the image of a person who is eager … it helps.
- Don’t forget to practice the standard questions – Be less concerned about memorizing the answers to these questions and focus on HOW you answer the question and the thought you put into the answers. Role-playing with another person is the best way, but even practicing in front of a mirror is helpful.
- If you are being interviewed by more than one person, don’t forget to talk to both of them – Being interviewed by more than one person is very common, so make sure you speak and look at all of the interviewers as you answer the questions.
- Don’t avoid eye contact – Some people are very uncomfortable with direct eye contact, so my advice to you is to look at a point about 6 inches above the interviewer’s shoulder about 3 to 4 inches from their ear; from a distance across a desk, it will look like you have perfect eye contact.
- Don’t answer your phone – For the 20 or 30 minutes that you are in an interview, TURN YOUR PHONE OFF, trust me that it will make a difference.
- Don’t forget to bring questions with you – If you come prepared with a list of questions, you will score points for this when they ask you, “Do you have any questions for us?”
- Don’t forget to listen to the questions and just answer the questions – Always keep the question in mind when responding to an interviewer, if you cannot remember the question, you have been talking for too long. At the opposite end of the spectrum, very few interview questions should be answered in “YES or NO.”
- Don’t forget to thank them for the interview – In my experience, very few people actually do this, thank each interviewer and leave nothing but a very positive impression of yourself.
- Don’t forget to ask what the next step is and don’t burn any bridges – If the interviewers don’t tell you what the next step is, take the initiative and ask politely, it is likely a test to see how you respond. A last point, if you don’t happen to get the job, be respectful, be gracious, and make sure they know that if the person hired doesn’t work out, you would still like to be considered.
- One last tip, try to avoid telling the interviewer how many other interviews that you have had recently – Play this particular card carefully, it might actually disqualify you from consideration. If an employer thinks you are not serious about THEIR company, they may not want to take a chance on offering you a position only to have you turn them down.
Many of my presentations focus on preparation and competitive advantages. Being prepared for an interview is something you can do easily and most of your competition, particularly for small and medium-sized companies, do not.
Good luck.
Paul.