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You Just Don’t Get It! How Job Interviews Are Lost

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Published: 23Aug2005
Word count: 416
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Most companies have business hours. They expect their employees to be there between those hours. And if they set an interview for a potential employee at a certain hour, they expect them to be there. It's a well-worn saying, but time really is money, and putting an interviewer behind in their schedule, could cost you the job, despite your qualifications.

Right behind punctuality on an interviewer's list of requirements is confidence. Not bravado, and bragging about accomplishments, but answering questions about your experience, or potential to learn new things, with directness, honesty, and good eye contact. When you're sure of yourself, an interviewer finds it easier to be sure you're the right choice for the job. That doesn't mean that they won't allow for a certain amount of interview apprehension. But squirming, wandering eyes, checking your watch, and lackluster responses to questions, are all indications that an applicant is feeling less than comfortable, which can be seen as a drawback if the job requires someone who has the self-assurance to make decisions and accept responsibility for them.

Remember too, that an interviewer is sitting behind the desk, looking at you. Someone who shows up in casual or wrinkled clothes, with hair blown about by the wind, can give the impression that you either didn't care about your appearance, or that you're unable to manage your time so there are a few spare minutes to touch it up.

Even when you are dressed nicely, and have a pleasant smile, all of that is ruined, if you can't communicate properly. That includes ummming and ahhhing while answering questions, evading direct answers, and mumbling. This is particularly bad when the job interview is for a position dealing with the public.

Nothing, and we mean absolutely nothing, can kill your chances to nail an interview faster than aggressiveness. Confidence is one thing, rushing in with unasked for opinions, or taking the conversational lead from the interviewer without being given the appropriate opening, is brassy, forward, and considered arrogant. Many an applicant has found to their chagrin, that premature inquiries about salary, or other personally focused questions, have conveyed the impression of self-interest over the company's interests.

Stop and think about it...you're selling yourself to the interviewer. Polish those points before you start off for the appointment. When in doubt, leave it out. You want to get your foot in the door, not in your mouth.

Joel Vance is an Human Resources expert who has been in HR for 17 years and interviewed 3,159 people. He has also taught at 4 major universities around the country and currently has a best selling book on interviewing entitled The Perfect Interview at http://www.theperfectinterview.com

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