Interview Bloopers

• Being unprepared I – Never go to an interview without having researched the company or organization beforehand.

• Being unprepared II – Never go to an interview without having reviewed the resume and cover letter you submitted. You don't want to seem surprised if the interviewer brings up something you wrote in them.

• Being rude to the receptionist. The receptionist is not your servant – they're potentially your future colleague. Besides, there's a chance the interviewer will ask them what they thought of you.

• Making too much – or too little – eye contact. You want to look at the person you're speaking with – not bore holes into him!

• Using inappropriate language or manners. It's appropriate to be politely friendly. It's not appropriate to crack jokes or burst into guffaws.

• Being overly casual. Don't slouch. Don't put your feet anywhere but on the floor. Don't call your interviewer by their first name unless he or she specifically tells you to.

• Forgetting your interviewer's name – and (worse) admitting it. If you forget the person's name, look around for a name plaque, a framed certificate, or anything else that might give you a clue.

• Fidgeting. Put that pencil down. Clasp your hands and rest them on your knees. If you're too nervous to sit still, try clenching and unclenching your toes (inside your closed-toe shoes, of course!)

• Pointing at the interviewer. Strange as it sounds, HR people assure that us a number of interviewees do this. It's not a good idea. Interviewers will think you're weird, rude, or both.

• Getting caught out in a lie. Need we say more?

• Sidetracking the conversation. An interview is a business meeting. Keep it businesslike.

• Hijacking the conversation. The interviewer is in charge. Let him or her ask all the questions they want to. (By the way, interviewers are suspicious of applicants who seem to be trying to 'run out the clock' before the interviewer has a chance to get to uncomfortable topics.)

• Asking how you did at the end of the interview. This is not grade school. You are an adult, capable of presenting yourself in a confident, mature manner. That's the final impression you want to leave your interviewer with.

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