Fifty Interviews - Thirteen Simple Mistakes
/Since the middle of December, I have conducted over fifty interviews for several back-office positions. Many were memorable. Many more were memorable for the wrong reasons.
From the interviews I conducted (phone interviews and in-person interviews), here were some of the "mistakes" I saw (and you should avoid):
- Having a ring-back tone with inappropriate music
- Not answering the phone at the scheduled interview time
- Answering the phone with an unprofessional greeting
- Not having any questions of your own
- Asking about pay as your first question
- Not answering my "Tell me about an example of when you..." questions with an actual example
- Having only one or two word answers
- Arriving 2 hours early for an interview
- Arriving 15 minutes late and not apologizing
- Allowing your cell phone to ring during the interview without apologizing
- Wearing jeans to the interview
- Using profanity during the interview
- Lying to me about why you left your last job (or giving the impression that you were lying)
When I'm interviewing a candidate, I try to visualize them doing their last job and them doing the job for which I am interviewing them. Be courteous, sincere, honest, and prepared. And, please, be enthusiastic. Be positive and have some energy.
