This week on ATS Career Radio we invited Kim Boulahanis in from Health Integrated to help us talk about common interviewing mistakes. While we covered enough to write a book, I thought I'd share a few highlights:
Don't bring guests, spouses, significant others, kids, uncles, cousins or pets to your interview! They should stay in the car or out of sight. Just today, we had a candidate come in escorted by her father. Not only is this weird but it can make it uncomfortable for both the candidate and the interviewer. Like going to the bathroom, interviewing is one of those things better done on your own.
Always wear a suit. Not matter what position you are interviewing for, a suit is almost always impressive. This goes for guys and ladies. Think conservative, not only with the outfit, but with your make-up, hair, perfume and jewelry. No basketball-sized earrings or face jewelry please.
Leave the cell phone in the car. I know I covered this in another post but yesterday I had a candidate who brought her cell phone into the interview and it rang not once, not twice but NINE times! She answered it twice! This is simply unacceptable. Don't even run the risk of the "vibration" interrupting the interview. It is not worth it. Leave it in the car with your guests.
We talked about so many different things including tips on what to bring with you to the interview, how to prepare and we talked about other pitfalls to avoid. Give ATS Career Radio a listen at www.atscareerradio.com.
Any other common interviewing mistakes to avoid? I'd love to hear them at billf@atstampa.com .