Quick checklist: copy of CV? Bus pass? Removed bucket from head?
It can sometimes only take a matter of seconds for an interviewer to make up their mind about you – maybe even before you even say hello. To help you prepare for your first interview we've put together some of the quickest ways to get your name crossed off the To Hire list. Don't consider them as an exhaustive list - there are still other things to master, but these are the real basic blunders you'll need to avoid.
Mistake #1: Arriving late and flustered
Avoid this by leaving nothing about your trip to the interview to chance. This could be a practice run on public transport the day before … or making sure you’ve got enough coins for the parking meter once you’ve found the best route to your interview.
Mistake #2: Not dressing appropriately
An interview isn’t your chance to make your own personal fashion statement. In fact, it’s your chance to show how well you can blend in with everyone else at the company. Interview dress code, then: smart … and boring. You can make your fashion statement once you’ve got the job.
Mistake #3: Bad body language
That means no slouching, no flicking hair back, no fidgeting and no scratching where you wouldn’t normally scratch in company. Offer a firm handshake, sit up straight, look the interviewer in the eye … and smile.
Mistake #4: Having little or no knowledge about the COMPANY – fatal error. Need we say more?
Mistake #5: Having little or no knowledge about the POSITION – again, a total no-no.
Mistake #6: Not preparing good answers for either of these questions:
“Tell me about yourself” and “Why do you want to work for us?” This is perhaps your only chance to position yourself apart from (and above) all the other candidates your interviewer is going to be talking to.
Mistake #7: Not showing enough enthusiasm.
Well, would you hire someone who wasn’t enthusiastic about working for you?
Mistake #8: Leaving your phone switched on during the interview.
And - even worse - answering it if it rings.
Mistake #9: Lying
You know the phrase, "Cheaters never prosper"? Yeah, well, that. You may get away with your claim to know fluent Mandarin in the interview, but one day that little fib will catch up with you and when it does you'll a) regret it b) realise that you've spent a long time waiting to get caught out.
Mistake #10: Not asking for the job.
Because - as the saying goes - if you don't ask ... you don't get.
