It's not an incomplete answer to a question. It's not a skimpy resume. It's not even wearing the wrong clothes. The No. 1 way to sabotage a job interview is to be rude.
How you act during an interview says more about who you are as a person--and how you will be as an employee with whom others have to work--than anything you say. Those who fare the worst are job snobs, people who have an overblown sense of entitlement and truly believe they should be treated like a king or queen during a job interview.
This attitude was embodied in an interview a woman had for a top-level position in computer maker Gateway's human resources department. The Wall Street Journal reports that she showed up on time in February 2003 for the one-on-one session with CEO Ted Waitt. Waitt was unavoidably delayed in a meeting that lasted 30 minutes longer than planned. When he was ready to meet with the candidate, she was gone. Annoyed that Waitt kept her waiting past the appointed time, she took a company-provided limousine home. John Heubusch, Waitt's former chief of staff, told the Journal, "I remember being really shocked."
So how should you act during an interview? "Always act like a guest," Mark Jaffe, president of Minneapolis recruiters Wyatt & Jaffe, told the Journal. That means mind your manners. It goes way beyond eating with the proper fork at lunch and sending a prompt thank-you note to the hiring manager:
* Arrive on time (or even early) and don't cut out before the interview is completed.
* If you're asked to wait, do so politely.
* While you're cooling your heels in the lobby, be aware that anyone could be watching you--even the receptionist--and reporting back. You'll look the part of a promising candidate if you're reading the company's annual report instead of a trashy magazine or gazing in a mirror applying lipstick.
* When the interview begins, give it your full attention. That means never check your BlackBerry or answer your cell phone.
* Be gracious. Say please and thank you.
* Smile.
Your behavior is as much about etiquette as it is good judgment.
--From the Editors at Netscape
How you act during an interview says more about who you are as a person--and how you will be as an employee with whom others have to work--than anything you say. Those who fare the worst are job snobs, people who have an overblown sense of entitlement and truly believe they should be treated like a king or queen during a job interview.
This attitude was embodied in an interview a woman had for a top-level position in computer maker Gateway's human resources department. The Wall Street Journal reports that she showed up on time in February 2003 for the one-on-one session with CEO Ted Waitt. Waitt was unavoidably delayed in a meeting that lasted 30 minutes longer than planned. When he was ready to meet with the candidate, she was gone. Annoyed that Waitt kept her waiting past the appointed time, she took a company-provided limousine home. John Heubusch, Waitt's former chief of staff, told the Journal, "I remember being really shocked."
So how should you act during an interview? "Always act like a guest," Mark Jaffe, president of Minneapolis recruiters Wyatt & Jaffe, told the Journal. That means mind your manners. It goes way beyond eating with the proper fork at lunch and sending a prompt thank-you note to the hiring manager:
* Arrive on time (or even early) and don't cut out before the interview is completed.
* If you're asked to wait, do so politely.
* While you're cooling your heels in the lobby, be aware that anyone could be watching you--even the receptionist--and reporting back. You'll look the part of a promising candidate if you're reading the company's annual report instead of a trashy magazine or gazing in a mirror applying lipstick.
* When the interview begins, give it your full attention. That means never check your BlackBerry or answer your cell phone.
* Be gracious. Say please and thank you.
* Smile.
Your behavior is as much about etiquette as it is good judgment.
--From the Editors at Netscape
