Things Not To Do During Interviews, Ten Things To Remember And Never Ever Do

By J. Navarra | Mar 26, 2016 10:53 AM EDT

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Liz Ryan, who was a Fortune 500 HR SVP and now leads Human Work Place, is telling you that there are ten things you should never do when asked to come in for an interview. According to Forbes, most of them seem obvious, there are reasons behind them that that need to be emphasized plus advices on how to prevent them.

Here are the ten things you should never do on a job interview:

NEVER...

1. Be late - Be at least 15 minutes early. To make sure you get there on time, test-drive your way to the interview location to make sure you know how to get there and to make sure you know how early you need to leave if there's traffic.

2. Arrive without knowing who you're meeting or without their contact information - When they call you, get the name, department, phone number or email address of the person who invited you to the interview. This way, if someone else greets you, he can point you to the right direction.

3. Come unprepared - Bring extra hard copies of your resume, your portfolio (needed for certain types of jobs), a notepad and a pen.

4. Come to the interview under-dressed - Not sure what to wear? Ask the recruiter if you need to come in full business-attire or casual-business. Showing up dressed appropriately will calm your nerves. But if you're interviewing with a startup or a funky creative firm, don't be shy about asking, "What is the usual interview attire in your company?"

5. Show up without questions - It's best to right down your questions for your interviewer before you get to the interview. You can also take down notes. Ask questions about the role, the working hours, the business goals and priorities, and other things you want to know about the job.

6. Interrupt the interviewer while talking - Obviously, this appears rude. Let the interviewer finish talking first, then say what you need to say when he/she is done.

7. Forget the interviewer's name or the company name mid-stream - Write down the name and department on your notepad. Also include the job details (that you know of), the position and the recruiter's details (it may come up).

8. Go off-topic - If you're excited to tell your success stories, make sure you go straight to the point and avoid the irrelevant parts. Stop and think about what the interviewer has asked you before you speak than to launch into a story or an answer that has nothing to do with this company's situation.

9. Book your schedule too tightly - You may want to maximize your day with all the interviews or activities but you might be over-working it. Take into consideration that some interviews may take too long (which is often a good thing). Also, remember there could be uncontrolled circumstances like traffic. You wouldn't want to leave your first interview in a rush or arrive at the second venue late.

10. Leave without thanking the interviewer for his or her time - Be sure to thank the interviewer for his or her time by saying "Thanks so much for meeting with me - it was terrific to meet you and learn more about the opportunity."

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