Landing an interview is already hard enough in the first place, so why blow it? Even if you leave the interview feeling confident, there’s a chance you might have blown it without even knowing it. Here’s a list of things that hiring managers consider as disqualifiers:
Being rude to the receptionist or other support staff
You show up to your interview, and you are super polite during your interview, but were kinda rude to the receptionist. You blew it! How you act towards other employees, whether they’re your direct co workers or not, is very important for hiring managers.
Checking your phone
You are in your interview and your phone dings. You quickly glance to see if it’s someone liking your last Instagram post. You blew it!
Wait to check whether anyone liked your last cat post.
I would even recommend you turn off your phone before right before the interview starts to show respect towards the interviewer and the process.
Hint: You should also do this on your first dates.
Showing up late
Things happen. Accidents on the freeway, the train is delayed, kids have accidents, etc. Plan to get to your interview early. The further you are from the interview, the earlier you should plan on getting there.
Bad hygiene
Ugh. Brush your teeth, deodorant, comb your hair.
Interrupting the interviewer
You might not even realize that you’re doing it. Some people have this habit without even knowing.
Bringing food to the interview
So, they schedule an interview at 12:00 because they have a tight schedule. You decide to bring a Supreme Beef Burrito because that’s your lunch time and *hopefully* ask if you can have lunch during your interview. The interviewer might say yes, but internally, he’s saying “No” to hiring you.
You know who also don’t like you bringing food into their workspace? Uber Drivers.
Coming to the interview unprepared
If your answer to the typical interview questions “What do you know about this company?” or “Why do you want to work for this company?” starts with “Errrrrr….”, you blew it!
Prepare yourself. Go to the company’s website, check their mission statement, their locations, their “About Us” section. You can also check their social media pages, like Facebook or Linked In
Dress inappropriately
You’ll blow it not only by under dressing to your interview, but also by over dressing. Dress for the job you want.
Poor communication skills
Talker
Being a good communicator doesn’t mean being a rambler. Quite the opposite. Keep your answers to the point and focused. Simply, you talk too much.
Don’t use monosyllables as answers
It’s hard to communicate with someone that answers questions with monosyllables. Fully answer the question as best as you can. Simply, you don’t talk enough.
Shake hands, make eye contact, have confidence, show that you’re a good listener, engage with the interviewer.
Badmouthing past co workers or past employers
I get it. You quit your last job because your last boss was not capable enough, or because your co workers were idiots.
Keep that to yourself. The world is smaller than you think, and you don’t want the hiring manager to think you’ll do the same after you leave this job (if you get it)