Interviews are never going to be a fun way to send your tie, but you can make it so much better for yourself by not doing any of the following. You would be surprised at how many people actually do these, and funnily enough don’t get the job!

First impression

Everyone one knows that making a good first impression is vital. Which is why most people put on a suit and make themselves look smart. It is also important to make the first few seconds of the interview a good few seconds. Nine times out ten you will be introduced to your interviewers and the dreaded handshake will come into play. Although it has absolutely no bearing on how well you can do the job if you do this badly you will be remembered for all the wrong ones.  Certain character traits can be gained from how a person shakes hand s so if you know what they are looking for you can avoid the pitfalls.

  • Limp – Be firm, but remember it is not a test of manliness. Squeezing too hard is just as bad as a limp handshake. Your interviewers will take from this that you are disinterested.
  • Over friendly – You don’t want to come across as over confident, and put more into the handshake than is needed.  This will only put you in the car salesman category, insincere.
  • Avoidance – Many people try to avoid given a hand shake, more than you would think. So instead they panic and give a half handshake. Almost try and just grab your fingers rather than your hand. This is bad as it makes you look timid and quite frankly a little strange.

Next time you are out with your friends just give a few practice handshakes, if you have a bad one they will tell you soon enough. Once you know then you can easily change. Some people naturally give a bad handshake, but with a little practice you can easily improve your ‘technique’ and give a handshake like a pro.

Nervous talkers

I put myself in this category, as on a couple of interviews I have rambled so much when answering a questions I forgot what the question was. To avoid this I have learnt to hold back a little with my ramblings and try and focus on the question. Refer back to it and keep your answers concise. The best way to do this is to prepare for the interview, read up on common questions. Find out about the company you are hoping to get a job at. Normally it is when you are unsure that the extra chat starts to come out.

Being negative

It is so easy to slip into doing this without thinking, but never refer to current or previous employers in a negative manner. You may well have plenty of good reasons to think that your current boss is the worst on history, but keep this to yourself.  The interviewer will only presume that you will do the same to them. Keep positive and focus on how it has improved your experience and expertise.

Being late

It is pretty obvious this one but I would also put in the same camp being too early. Turning u a t a company only to sit outside the interview room for ages looks bad. Both just highlight bad time keeping skills. If you can’t judge your transport needs for an interview then what chances do you have at getting t right for just a normal day at work. Plane your route, test your route, and turn up on time. If this involves sitting in your car for half an hour then so be it. Make it look to your potential new employer that your time keeping skills are impeccable.

It‘s in the Eyes

Eye contact is a good indicator on your levels of confidence, so you need to try getting this right. Whatever you do don’t presume that staring at someone is making you look confident, in fact it will just make you look creepy. Similar to the over talking issue, getting the right balance of eye contact can be achieved from a little bit of role play practice.

Tell me about yourself question

It happens in almost all interviews, the about you question. It is really easy to stumble at this stage. People often find it tricky to big themselves up and realistically. Be honest on succinct if you don’t prepare for this you will just simply ramble.

Write you pros and cons down on paper and then try and relate these to actual job examples. I would suggest trying to come with three killer examples of your greatness in previous employment.  Include an example of how you see your career developing and how you see this happening within your new company.

This article was contributed by Haven Power – Business Electricity.