In our recent blog  on Interview DO’S, we listed the top 10 things you SHOULD DO in an interview in order to get ready to receive a job offer.   This is a follow up on that blog focused on a similar list of INTERVIEW DONT’S.  It’s often not just what you DO in an interview but what you DON’T DO that leads to the right job offer.

1. Don’t Arrive Late. That’s a huge no, no – so whatever it takes for you to get to your interview 5 minutes before it’s schedule to start, do so.   We advise the candidates we represent to do a dry run to the interview destination the day before – so there will be no surprises in terms of drive time or traffic.

1. Don’t show up to the interview unprepared – either falsely believing your resume speaks for itself, just plain laziness, or not fully appreciating the importance of the occasion. An interview is a VERY high impact conversation – go into it unprepared, and you’ll likely not get another chance.

Make sure your preparation shows!  “I’ve spent some time thinking about how my skills and work experiences will apply to this job and would love to get your take on what I’ve come up with.”   

3. Don’t talk about your personal life – in particular anything that is or will be perceived to have impact on your work performance. Things like challenges you may be having finding a job;   personality issues you’ve had with previous co-workers;  the difficulty you may be having arranging childcare;  the emotional stress of a divorce – are all very real life issues,  but when it comes to the interview, they need to be left at home.

And never doubt how clever your interviewer might be.  Most interviewers know how to show empathy for your story, but in the end, will likely select another, less complicated, candidate.

4. Don’t ask about pay and benefits too early in the interview. Wait until the end when you sense the interviewer has genuine interest in hiring you before you bring up pay or benefits.   Although it is okay to ask about pay and benefits once at the proper point in the interview, NEVER NEGOTIATE at any time during an interview.  Save that conversation for when you have an offer in hand.

5. Don’t spend too much time on NEGATIVE stuff.  Even if you’re asked, avoid conversations that focus on why you didn’t like your last job or supervisor.  Don’t offer up “your version” of why you were terminated in a job you held two years ago.  Instead, provide information on what you learned and how that experience worked to improve your performance in your next job. Don’t dwell about how long you have been out of the job market, talk about what you’ve done to prepare yourself to go back to work.

6. Don’t give long winded answers to short questions. Most interviewers have limited time, so spending too much time answering questions in (too much) detail, is probably not going to be a winning strategy.  Let your interviewer take the lead and follow their example. In most cases, they will prefer you keep your answers on-point, without offering a lot of extraneous comments (unless they specifically ask).

7. Don’t look bored or disengaged – even if it turns out you are not interested in the job. Interviewers like (and will remember) candidates who are sitting tall in their chairs, leaning slightly forward, and have good eye contact.  If something comes up in the interview where you know the job isn’t right for you, keep putting your best foot forward.  Consider each of your interviews as “practice” for situations where you want the job offer.

8. Don’t Check your phone or respond to texts.   Don’t do it!  Leave your cell phone in the car or mute it!
9. Don’t be rude or condescending to the receptionist. Believe it or not, some hiring managers will ask their receptionist about your behavior in the waiting area. Make friends, not enemies.

10. Don’t speak negatively about a former employer, boss, or co-worker. Some interviewers will even look interested while you’re “coming clean with all the dirt”.  Don’t be fooled.  Interviewers know if you bash others, you will likely bash them.

If you’d like to learn more about the different kinds of jobs that are available in the local job market, visit our website.

If you’d like to check out some of the jobs we’re currently representing, check out our job board.

If you’d like to read more about interview DO’s check them out here

This blog was written by Mike Gunther, the Recruiting Manager at the PACE Staffing Network a 2017 and 2018 Best of Staffing winner.  Mike oversees all of the candidate sourcing recruiting activities at PACE, making sure that each candidate has a positive experience with the PACE team.  To make contact with our recruiters, call 425-637-3311 or e mail us at candidateservices@pacestaffing.com