The wrong move can cost you the job. You've worked hard to
get to the interview stage. You passed the cover letter and resume screening
process…maybe even a few telephone interviews.[i]
Now it’s time for the face-to-face interview with the employer
itself. Any number of items can go wrong but you have to be in control and must
have confidence. Go into an interview with the feeling that you are going to
impress them so much that they will have to make you an offer.[ii]
The interview is the most stressful part of the job hunt for
many people because now they can't hide behind the cover letter and resume.[iii]
The real face to face human connection between possible employer and job
candidate takes place. But for starters if you simply follow these thirteen tips
below, you are on your way to interviews with results.
A big part of a successful interview is avoiding simple
mistakes. Mistakes are deadly to the job seeker and easy to avoid if you are
prepared. These are the most common interview mistakes - and their antidotes.
1. Arriving
late-Get directions from
the interviewer - or a map. Wear a watch and leave home early. If the worst
happens and you can't make it on time, call the interviewer and arrange to
reschedule.
2. Dressing
wrong-You make your
greatest impact on the interviewer in the first seventeen seconds - an
impression you want to make powerfully positive.
Dress right in a conservative
suit, subdued colors, little jewelry (but real gold, or silver, or pearls), low
heels (polished) and everything clean and neat.
Hygiene includes combed hair,
brushed teeth, deodorant and low-key scent. Check everything the night before,
again before walking out the door and once again in the restroom just before
the interview.
3. Play
zombie- OK, you're
nervous. But you can still smile, right? And make eye contact, yes? Sit up,
focus on the interviewer, and start responding. Enthusiasm is what the
interviewer wants to see.
4. No
smoking, no gum, no drinking-This
is all comfort stuff for you, and none of it helps you here. Employers are more
likely to hire non-smokers. At a lunch or dinner interview, others may order
drinks. You best not.
5. Research
failure-The interview is
not the time for research. Find out the company's products and services, annual
sales, structure and other key information from the Internet, the public
library, professional magazines or from former employees.
Show that you are interested in
working for the prospective employer by demonstrating knowledge about the
company.
6. Can't
articulate your own strengths and weaknesses-Only you can recognize your most valuable strengths and most
hurtful weaknesses. Be able to specify your major strengths. Your weaknesses,
if such must come up, should only be turned around to positives.
7. Winging
the interview-Practice! Get a friend, a list of interview questions and
a tape recorder and conduct an interview rehearsal.
Include a presentation or
demonstration if that will be part of the real interview. Start with
introducing yourself and go all through an interview to saying good-bye. Write
out any answers you have difficulty with, and practice until your delivery is
smooth (but not slick).
8. Talk,
Talk, Talk-Rambling,
interrupting the interviewer and answering to a simple question with a
fifteen-minute reply - all of these can be avoided if you've thought through
and practiced what you want to communicate. Good answers are to the point and
usually shorter.
9. Failure
to connect yourself to the job offered- The job description details the company's needs - you connect
your experiences, your talents and your strengths to the description.
It answers the essential reasons
for the interview - "How my education/experience/talents/strengths fit
your needs and why I can do this job for you."
10.
Not asking questions - and asking too many-Use your research to develop a set of
questions that will tell you whether this is the job and the company for you.
This will help you limit and focus your questions. But don't overpower the
interviewer with questions about details that really won't count in the long
run.
11.
Bad-mouth anyone-Not just your present employer, or
former employer, or the competition. You don't want to look like a complainer.
12.
Asking about compensation and /or benefits
too soon-Wait for the
interviewer to bring up these issues - after the discussion of your
qualifications and the company's needs and wants.
13.
Failure to ask for the job-When the interviewer indicates the
interview is over, convey your interest in the job and ask what the next step
is.[iv]
 |
| Larry the Cable Guy |
[i] The modern use of "Git-R-Done"
was developed in the early 1990's by hard working white males, who reached a
point in their life where they wanted to actually accomplish something... They
had to have a way…to reaffirm that feeling of getting something done. Thus,
[this phrase] was born.
This can be
said before a task is completed [for motivation]; after a task is completed
[for celebration or] during the process of completing a task for no apparent reason…
This phrase was popularized by comedian Daniel Lawrence Whitney (“Larry the
Cable Guy”). This explanation was adapted from www.urbandictionary.com.
[ii] “Entrust your
efforts to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3(GW)
[iii]“Surely, no
matter what you are doing (speaking, writing,
or working), do it all in the name of Jesus our Master, sending thanks through
Him to God our Father.” Colossians 3:17 (VOICE)
[iv] Adapted from the article, “13
Job Interview Mistakes to Avoid” by Nathan
Newberger
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