I polled a couple of colleagues today and was surprised at the rapid pile of responses I got to “biggest interview mistakes”.
These are real life examples. I am not making them up. Promise.
- leaving your phone on during an interview
- taking a call on that phone while you are in an interview
- forgetting to do up your middle button
- having lettuce in your teeth
- arriving late
- not knowing who you are meeting
- wearing clothes that don’t fit
- being drunk
- interrupting the interviewer
- sweaty palms
- speaking too quickly
- rambling – if you can’t remember the question, you have talked too long
- offensive jokes
- asking about other possible roles in the company
- using LinkedIn to connect with the hiring manager or president before the interview
All of these can be avoided with two simple steps. Prepare the day before and do a 360 review with a mirror before you get to the interview location.
In fact, these steps are pretty sensible for any meeting Go ahead and practice. You will be happy you did.