How to Fail at a Job Interview

I have conducted thousands of interviews and with so many different social media outlets such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Twitter posting articles regarding how to prepare for an interview you would think that candidates would get it by now. After all, with 5.9% of the population unemployed and competition for open positions is stiff. As a woman who has probably seen it all in interviews, here is a list of things that will guarantee you will NOT get the job.

Being more than 10 minutes early or 2 minutes late.

Both being too early and being late will automatically annoy the person interviewing you. If you show up too early, the interviewer may think that you have no consideration for their time. Show up late and they will wonder if you’re always going to be late for work.

Show up no more than 10 minutes early to the interview. Never show up late. In that rare instance where you are going to be late due to unforeseen circumstance (like a herd of buffalo crossing the road), call the place your interviewing with and let them know you will be late and provide an estimated time of arrival so they know when to expect you.

Not doing your research.

I cannot tell you how many times I have asked “what do you know about our company” and the candidates looks at me blankly trying to figure out what to say. Being generic by giving basic information about the company does not count. We live in an online world now. You can find out quite a bit just by Googling a company. Try it. Google the company you previously worked for and see how much information you get. Even if you are being hired for a janitorial position in the company you should know what the company does, who their customer base is and its history.

If the position you’re interviewing for is more entailed (sales positions, mid-management, senior management, etc.), do a more detailed research. Find out what problems the company is looking to solve. When answering this question in an interview, speak to not only the history of the company but what you have discovered about the problem and how you can provide the solution.

Dress in too casual clothing or not looking “pulled together.”

As much as we would like to say it doesn’t matter how you look, it does. You don’t have to be in the latest fashions (unless you’re applying for a job in that industry) but coming to an interview in ripped jeans and a sweat shirt isn’t going to get you the job. Dockers and a nice polo shirt are acceptable for men and women who are interviewing for a non-office job. JEANS are not! For office jobs business casual or business professional is the way to go depending on the company culture, which you should know if you have done your research. If you’re unable to afford an appropriate outfit, check out your local thrift store. Some will even donate the clothes to you if you meet certain criteria.

It’s not just about your clothes, hiring managers look at hair, makeup, shoes…they pay attention to things including how you smell (usually only if you smell bad though). This can tell them how organized you are, how organized you will keep your workplace and how much you care about things. Is someone going to want to work with you if you smell like body odor or onions? Would you want to work with someone who had so much perfume or cologne on that your nose twitches the entire time?

Lie.

Little white lies, big lies, it doesn't matter. They will get you in trouble and guess what, the hiring manager will find out. It doesn't matter if you lie on your resume or tell a lie in an interview, either way you’re toast. Even if you’re able to get the job, once the lie is discovered you can pretty much guarantee a pink slip in your future. This goes for “embellishing” the truth as well.

For example, saying you “have a great social network that would benefit the company” but you have 10 LinkedIn connections and 10 Facebook friends…in today’s society that is not being socially connected.

Calling the hiring manager the wrong name.

I know it sounds trivial but you should have been paying attention enough in the interview including introductions to know the name of the person interviewing you. Calling him/her by the wrong name is really going to piss them off. After all how would you like to be called Mike if your name is John? Show respect.

Don’t shake hands with the person interviewing you.

It’s not only a sign of disrespect to not shake hands but some hiring managers will not hire someone because of it. There are hiring managers who say that everything they need to know about the candidate they can learn from a handshake. Too firm of a handshake means they’re not a team player, too weak and the person can be walked all over.

Are you a germ-o-phoebe and afraid to shake hands? Getting over a cold? Use hand sanitizer before and after shaking hands; trust me that is perfectly ok. If your hands sweat too much from being nervous casually wipe them on your outfit (without them noticing) before shaking hands.

Talk about your personal life.

Hiring managers are looking at all sorts of ways to disqualify you. Talking about your personal life constantly during the interview is not good. Hiring managers don’t want to hear how your son Jimmy won the national championship in little league baseball…leave those types of conversations to when you’re hired. Hiring managers want to hear about your experience and how it’s going to help them. Small talk is fine but elaborate stories about your personal life are not.

Chew gum during your interview.

I don’t even need to explain this one.

Have your phone ring during an interview, even the alert go off where they can hear it.

RESPECT! Turn your cell phone and all alerts to silent. If it does ring don’t even think of answering it. Apologize profusely and put the phone on silent. Don’t dare look at who called or the email or text that alerted you.

Don’t bring a copy of your resume.

Guess what? Hiring managers have other things to do besides interview. Always bring extra copies of your resume just in case. There is nothing like a hiring manager trying to remember your resume after seeing 100’s of them…their not going to remember you after either.

Take a phone interview in a noisy place.

Nothing annoys a recruiter or hiring manager more than trying to hear you over the dog barking, the train sound or even worse, the bar noise in the background.

Use slang words or text abbreviations in conversation.

Seriously, I realize not every position requires a college education, but for the love of God please use proper English. If you can’t form a complete sentence with a subject and a verb (and I don’t mean those wonderful new verbs like twerking), a hiring manager is not going to hire you. So leave your “That boss was Cray Cray” at home.

While I am on the subject of proper English, I beg you to proof read your resume and cover letter, more than just once. You will be really lucky if a hiring manager looks past grammar mistakes on your resume or cover letter to give you an interview. Better yet have a good friend proof read it too!

Throw your old boss or company under the bus.

Yes, your old boss or company may have been less than desirable to work with or for but don’t tell the hiring manager all the bad things they did. You’re probably asking why is this important. At some point you may leave the company you’re interviewing with and they are going to wonder if you will talk about them like that.

While you may think these are little things, they are huge. I have interviewed thousands of candidates, from the janitor for the company to the executive level. You wouldn’t believe the things recruiter and hiring managers have seen from candidates. It doesn’t matter what industry it is. The best tip is to put your best foot forward. First impressions count.

About Stacy Gibbs: Stacy has been conducting interviews for over 20 years in a variety of industries including retail, manufacturing, IT and government support. She is a unique HR professional who believed that employee engagement was the key to success before it became the buzz word it is today. Her strong operational, analytical and people skills have helped Stacy become the successful HR Manager she is today. .