What to Do and What NOT to Do
You might feel as though hiring managers want to hear about how you’ve been struggling, just took out a cash advance for fast cash and need a job now. However, they could care less about any of this during an interview. Unfortunately, job seekers have committed such interviewing blunders, says the annual survey of the worst interview mistakes at CareerBuilder.com.
Awkward behavior isn’t the only thing that will kill your chances of landing a job. When asked about the most dangerous and common mistakes that interviewees could possibly make, 51% of hiring managers said dressing out of sorts. 49% said slamming former bosses as the wort offense, though 48% also named disinterest was the deciding factor. These were just a few reasons that were given, others included asking the wrong questions, arrogance, and giving answers that were insufficient.
For the sake convenience, here are 10 mistakes people have actually made so you don’t repeat their mistakes at an interview.
Oh, No She Didn’t!
There was once a candidate who answered her cell phone in the middle of an interview and asked the interviewer to leave his own office because it was a “personal” conversation. You shouldn’t EVER do this. You must not forget that you are being judged, whether you like it or not, from the moment that you walk into the doors of the establishment. Turn your darn cell phone off, and stop being a teenager already, or at least put it on silent or vibrate.
Don’t Provide TMI
A guy filling out an application for a job told the interviewer that he probably wouldn’t be staying with the company long because he was expecting an inheritance check when his uncle died, and “he looked half-way to death at the moment.” He finished by adding, “I just need some fast cash to pay off some debt.” This isn’t the kind of thing that a hiring manager or interviewer wants to hear about. If you plan on not being at the company very long, and can’t supply a date when you plan to leave, it’s best not to apply for the job at all.
Arrive Prepared
One candidate asked the interviewer if they could catch a lift home after the interview. Odds are that if you don’t know someone, you don’t want them in your car after only 30 minutes of bonding time. Make sure that you are prepared before you arrive to the interview, and that means securing a ride there and back.
Express Yourself – But Not Too Much
There was an applicant who lifted each of his arms and smelled his armpits before entering the interviewing room. Obviously, make sure that issues of personal hygiene are sorted out before you go to interview for the job. Interviewers logically think that if you’re unsure of your cleanliness at an interview, you will be at work as well.
Don’t Lie
There was an interviewee who told the interviewer that she couldn’t provide the company with any writing samples due to the fact that all her work was previously for the CIA and marked as “classified.” It would be impossible to know if she worked where she did (the resume should list it), and it wasn’t what you say during an interview. As a professional, a writing sample should have been drafted before entering the company’s doors. As if it hasn’t been stressed enough, show up prepared.
Know When to Keep Thing Professional
Never do what one candidate did and tell the interviewer that he was fired for beating the crap out of his former boss. This is the kind of situation where an interviewer respects a persons’ honesty, because they know they won’t be hiring that person. Though the information you’d like to give might be true, ask yourself if it belongs in an interviewing conversation.
Keep the Vices at Home
An applicant was offered some cookies, food and refreshments before an interview and declined them, saying with excitement, “I can’t line my stomach with that grease before I get drunk tonight. I’m getting ripped!” While everyone has their own personal vices, it’s not good to mention the ones during an interview that could lessen your chances of getting the job.
Prove You Should Be There
At an interview for an accounting position, an applicant said that she wasn’t a “numbers person,” she was a “people person.” That probably didn’t go over will with the interviewer. Make sure that you can prove to the person interviewing you why you are there and what your skills can bring to the company or business.
Even Over the Phone, Be Polite
During a phone interview with a hiring manager, one interviewee flushed the toilet. As you can guess, the hiring manager didn’t call the candidate back. Make sure that you are professional and polite at all times. First impressions can be lasting.
Groom Yourself BEFORE the Interview
The applicant waited until the middle of the interview to take a comb from her purse and give her hair a touch-up. Some don’t mind keeping up appearances, but there is obviously a time and place for it. You don’t want the state of your hair, clothes, brutal honesty, or body odor to get you a ticket back to the unemployment line or a fast cash advance instead of into a new career.
