I recently wrote a post on what not to do when writing your CV. Here's also another interesting post on CVs and CVs in Catalan. Now let's assume you followed my advice, or you didn't, but nevertheless got invited to an interview.
You got your foot on the threshold! They want to meet you! You are already in the top 20% of their choices, well done! Let's now go through in how many ways you can still screw up.
There is an advantage of interviews compared to the whole CV-sending business: you can see their faces (or at least listen to them if it is a phone interview). This means that you can assess the situation and adapt.
Let's now go through a list of interview NO-NO situation. Unfortunately I have to tell that all these examples are based on real experiences. Tough.
Don't be late
You managed to give a good enough impression so they want to meet you. This is the fastest way to ruin it. Managers love to feel busy and it pisses them off to waste time. Because of somebody else that is.
Don't miss the building
The candidate calls me telling he's waiting in the lobby, so we went to pick him. But the lobby was empty so we called him back. He was in a wrong lobby, that means a wrong building, which means wrong company. Not a great way to cause a good impression.
In the meeting invitation the address and company name were written in three different places, but he went to the wrong place, and I quote, "because my friend told me it was here!" and he was upset with us. Not good.
Not knowing your own CV
...so that you need to check the interviewers copy to explain your own experience. This is actually a specific case of the main rule of trying to get a job: don't lie.
Don't check check your mobile phone continuously
I hope it doesn't require an explanation, but I'll write anyway: you were trying to impress them. Checking your phone continuously screams "I don't care. I don't know what I'm doing here". There is an acceptable exception though, if your partner is about to go into labour.
Don't stretch, yawn or spend more time looking through the window than the interviewers
Of course, there is the chance that you are actually bored, and not interested any longer in the job. That's actually OK. Say it out loud, and you'll save some wasted time for a bunch of people.
Don't whisper or yell
It just makes the conversation very awkward and in occasions not understandable. The best interviews are those which feel like a conversation, rather than an interrogation.
Don't stare at the chest (to put it nicely) of your female interviewer
This happened while doing an interview together with a female colleague. The result? It was a very uncomfortable situation, and I felt ignored. Labelling yourself as a pervert won't get the interviewers interested, it will scare them!
Don't be scared :)
This is easy to say from this side of the table, but you have to remember that it is a two sided road. You need to impress them, but they need to impress you as well!
Don't ignore the interviewers
If they start yawning, sighing, checking their phones, staring at the screen longer than looking at you the chances are that you're boring them. And you don't want that. You can see how they react, so you can adapt.
Of course, most of them will be better than you at this game and reading body language, so remember: adapt, but don't lie!
Will these advises land you a job? No way. But at least it will give interviewers less reasons to reject you.
Good luck!
Kudos!
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