Five Things Not to Do in a Job Interview
Don’t make these job interview mistakes!
You’ve finally scored a job interview with a company you really, really, want to work for. You prepare, you practice and you feel confident about your chances. But you’re not home free just yet – job interviews are riddled with potential land mines. Here are five interview mistakes that will completely blow your chances of getting a new job.
1. Be rude
Being polite to just the interviewer isn’t going to cut it. Many hiring managers take notice of how you treat people, especially support staff. Remember, the people who answer the phones and clean the building deserve as much respect as the interviewer. A good rule of thumb is to be nice to everyone – even before you get to your interview.
We heard this real-life horror story from a hiring manager. A man who was running late for a job interview got stuck behind a slow-moving car. He began tailgating the car and honking his horn. Oddly enough, the car was headed for the same office building he was. When both drivers parked their cars and got out, he ran over to the other driver and started yelling at her for making him late. He even called her names! He rushed into the building, got to his interview and found out the woman he had just yelled at was his interviewer. He did not get the job.
2. Don’t do your homework
Walking into a job interview at Hardee’s and telling them how much you love their famous Big Mac isn’t going to go over well. Do a little research on the company before the interview. Find out about their competitors, their history and even who runs the company. The more you know about the company you’re interviewing for, the less likely you are to say something that will make you look silly – and the more likely you are to get the job.
3. Make inappropriate comments
A joke that’s hilarious to you might be offensive to an interviewer. Be very careful and stay far, far away from off-color topics like drinking, drugs and any other illegal activities. We know of one person who made jokes about how hungover she was during a job interview and another who asked if the drug policy was actually enforced. We’re not saying you shouldn’t be your normal funny self; we’re just saying tone it down while in a job interview.
4. Show up late
We can’t stress this enough: be at least 10 minutes early to your job interview. There is no faster way to tell a potential employer “I don’t care about getting this job” than to be late to the interview. If an unavoidable emergency does pop up or you get stuck in serious traffic, then call the interviewer to let him or her know you’re going to be late. Showing up late without a phone call is a guaranteed way to lose out on a job.
5. Bad-mouth past employers
As tempting as it might be, never, ever bad-mouth former employers during a job interview. No matter how bad your situation was, do your best to put a positive spin on your employment history. Instead of saying, “I didn’t like my job and my boss and I didn’t get along,” say, “It wasn’t the right job for me, but I learned a lot about the retail business and got some great experience.” Employers want to hire upbeat, happy people – so the more positive you can be in the job interview, the better.
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