20 Aug 09 Things To Avoid In An Interview

Many times people cover what to do positively in an interview, to ensure that you get the job.  But what about the things that you should avoid?  The instant interview enders for potential employers.  There are a plethora of things that you should avoid when giving an interview, as many interviewers use them as cues to judge your character.  Which means coming off the wrong way can lead to you losing out on a job opportunity before you’ve even had a chance to impress.  Here, I’ll go through five that you’ll want to avoid.

-Try to avoid smiling too much

Smiling is good, too much smiling is very, very bad.  When all you do is smile at an interview, you look nervous and intimidated.  Smiling always appears as your desperate attempt to avoid feeling inferior at the interview, when you most certainly do feel as such.  So smile when the moment calls for it, but don’t be afraid to be completely serious also.

-Avoid humor at all costs.

Humor is a great way to make the work environment a more friendly place to be, not to mention more enjoyable.  But until you know your coworkers well enough to crack the right jokes, you should probably avoid making them in the first place.  Bad jokes that don’t meet the humor standard of your potential employer are a good sign that you might not be the person for the job.  So do yourself a favor and avoid the jokes during the interview process.

-Don’t ask pointless questions.

Nothing comes off worse than stupid questions at an interview.  Think about what you want to know beforehand, so you’re well informed before the interview even begins.  There’s no thorn in your side quite like appearing uninformed, or unready to work at a position or company.

-Be careful how you dress.

You don’t want to be casual during an interview, you want to dress nicely, that means wearing a tie for the gents, and business appropriate apparel for the ladies.  Also don’t wear too much clothing, to the point that you could sweat during the interview.  Sweating looks very bad, as it makes you appear nervous and weak.  Both are things that you do not want to show in an interview.

-Be willing to go beyond your boundaries.

You may be asked about tasks that may seem uncomfortable to you, whether if they’re slightly outside your area of expertise, or not what you expected from the position.  Always seem willing to take on new tasks, even if you don’t have prior knowledge.  An employee that’s unwilling to learn to become a better contributor to the team isn’t very useful to a new employer.  That will show in an interview.

Tags: Bad Jokes, Coworkers, Crack, Cues, Desperate Attempt, Friendly Place, Gents, Humor, Interviewers, Job Opportunity, Lead, People, Plethora, Pointless Questions, Smile, Stupid Questions, Thorn In Your Side, Work Environment, Wrong Way