Today’s guest post is written by Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon of I Hate People!
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The dreaded job interview. No matter your resume and talents if you mess this up you won’t get that job. In today’s tough economy you need every possible edge. As the authors of the new book, I Hate People! Kick Loose from the Overbearing and Underhanded Jerks at Work and Get What you Want Out of Your Job, we see it as a simple equation: You don’t want to be hated.
Here are ten simple things to do that will dramatically increase your chances: from wearing the right expression, to knowing what not to say, to never ever breaking a sweat.
1. Don’t be a Smiley Face
Excessive smiling in a job interview is seen for what it is – nervousness and a lack of confidence. A Smiley Face exudes phoniness, which will quickly be picked up by the interviewer. Instead be thoughtful and pleasant. Smile when there’s something to smile about. Do a practice run in front of a mirror or friend.
2. Don’t be a Know-It-None
Your job is to be knowledgeable about the company for which you’re interviewing. Random facts about last night’s episode of Dancing With The Stars episode or your favorite blog will not get you the job. Never feel you have to fill an interview with small talk. Find ways to talk about serious subjects related to the industry or company. Pockets of silence are better than padding an interview with random babble.
3. Don’t Sweat
You can lose a job by wearing an undershirt or simply a little too much clothing. Sweaty palms or beads on your forehead will not impress. You are not applying to be a personal trainer. Sweat will be seen as a sign of weakness and nervousness. Do a practice run with your job interview outfit in front of friends. The job interview is one place you definitely don’t want to be hot.
4. Put down that Stop Sign
Interviewers are seeking candidates eager to take on challenging projects and jobs. Hesitance and a nay saying mentality will be as visible as a red tie – and seen as a negative. Practice saying “yes “ to questions about your interest in tasks and work that might normally give you pause.
5. Don’t be a Sheeple
Asking the location of the lunchroom or meeting room will clue the interviewer into your lack of preparation and initiative. Prepare. Don’t ask questions about routine elements or functions of a company: where stuff is, the size of your cube and company policy on coffee breaks.
6. Don’t be a Liar Liar
Studies show that employees lie frequently in the workplace. Lying won’t get you one. In a job interview even a slight exaggeration is lying. Don’t. Never stretch your resume or embellish accomplishments. There’s a difference between speaking with a measured confidence and engaging in BS. One lie can ruin your entire interview, and the skilled interviewer will spot the lie and show you the door.
7. Don’t Be a Bad Comedian
Humor tends to be very subjective and while it may be tempting to lead your interview with a joke you’ve got to be careful about your material. You probably will know nothing about the sensibilities of your interviewer, let alone what makes them laugh. On the other hand, nothing disarms the tension of a job interview like a little laughter, so you can probably score at least a courtesy chuckle mentioning that it’s “perfect weather for a job interview!”
8. Don’t Be High Maintenance
If you start talking about the ideal office temperature, the perfect chair for your tricky back, and how the water cooler needs to be filled with imported mineral water, chances are you’ll be shown a polite smile and the door, regardless of your qualifications. Nobody hiring today is going to be looking for someone who’s going to be finicky about their workspace.
9. Don’t Be A Minute Man
At every job interview, the prospective hire is given the chance to ask questions. Make yours intelligent, to the point and watch the person across the desk for visual cues whether you’ve asked enough. Ask too many questions about off-target matters and you’ll be thought of as a Minute Man, destined to waste the company’s resources with insignificant and time-wasting matters.
10. Don’t Be A Switchblade
Normally the Switchblade is thought of a backstabber, often taking credit for someone else’s work. In an interview setting, the Switchblade can’t help but “trash talk” his former employer. If you make it seem like your former workplace was hell on Earth, the person interviewing you might be tempted to call them to find out who was the real devil.
Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon are the co-authors of “I Hate People!,” the new business book with attitude from Little, Brown & Co. They have a blog focused on careers and business: http://www.IHatePeople.biz.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Good advice to follow!
Items 4 & 6 contradict each other. In 4 – people are told to practice saying “yes” to tasks and work that might give you pause. In 6 they’re told not to lie. If you don’t enjoying doing something and say “yes” you enjoy doing it, that’s a lie. I agree with item 6 than item 4. What happens if you get the job then your boss tells you to do something that gives you pause?
I used to work for a gaming company (casino slot machine manufacturer) and every now and again you’d get candidates that would last 3 days because they couldn’t work for a company that supported the gambling industry. I’d prefer those people own up to the fact that they’re uncomfortable with the business rather than take the job and quit three days later. If you have principles about what you will and won’t do, stick to them. Your principles are your own and they are a strength.
Be confident in your abilities, tell the truth and be genuinely interested in the position.
HRputer, thanks for bringing up the point you did in your comment. While Qs 4 & 6 may seemingly be a contradiction, we’re not advocating lying in Question 4. We’re suggesting that an applicant be definitive in their answers and say “Yes” if they’re truly willing to be challenged by the work and the job. If you’re waffling on working hard and rising to the challenge a particular position offers, why did you walk in the door in the first place?
Excellent advice! I’m always boggled when candidates come in and treat the interview like a therapy session and tell us all the terrible things their former employer did or fall into a spiral of self-deprecation.
And I’m loving that this post comes complete with a Pepto Bismol ad. A fine product for anyone going trying to navigate the interviewing process in this economy.
End every question with “I’m a team player”…. you’ll get every job you interview for– guaranteed.
# 5, Don’t be a Sheeple….I agree that maybe you shouldn’t ask certain questions like “where’s my office?” on a phone interview, but I once accepted a job without inquiring and on the first day of work, I quickly realized I’d made a big mistake NOT asking because they showed me to my filthy office which was located at the back of a dingy factory, I had to wear ear plugs, googles, safety vest and steel toe shoes to get to it. Now there is nothing wrong with Safety First, I just would have rathered known prior to accepting the position that this is what I’d bargained for. I wanted to be a good sport about it as I felt that I was able to contribute to the company, but after a few ear infections and visits to the eye doctor because of all the dust in the air and having to throw out a few outfits because of the filth….I just wasn’t cut out for that sort of environment….I’m a bit of a fashionista…..now I make it a point to ask where I would be “residing” because I feel that its important for a person to feel comfortable in the environment that they will be spending a great deal of their time in….
I had over 20 years in software (real-time testing, development, documentation, QA, application engineer) when I applied for a job at a small privately held manufacturing firm. For many reasons my job at that time was bank teller (but that is a long story). I countered the objection, “Overqualified” by saying, “I’m working as a teller at a bank, I’m not overqualified to be an engineer in your company.” It worked, and I passed the phone screen that was intended to tell me, “No, thanks.” That was several years back and I’m now doing engineering, marketing, the company website, and whatever. Sometimes humor does work, just to get you in the door. A one-liner beats a long, rambling explanation.
Great advice for my job interview next week. But I’m a hot natured person! My sweating has nothing to do with nervousness! Maybe I’ll bring a towel with me…
RE: 1 and 3. I smile. Pretty much all the time. It’s the default setting on my facial software. I’m almost never nervous, I’m not insecure, and I’m not shallow. (Okay maybe a little shallow but that’s not the point.)
I think you really mean to say – don’t be nervous, and if you ARE nervous, watch out for your body language so you don’t project nervousness and distract people away from what you’re saying. . It could be tapping your foot, clicking your pen, or twirling your hair. One interviewee I had a few years ago crunched the ice in his glass of water.
Smiling isn’t the problem. Letting them see you sweat, literally or metaphorically, is the problem.
This is a great list, especially #2 and #9.
Although I’m job hunting now, I’ve been on the other end of the table a lot in my career, and I’m always surprised at how many people don’t get these two points.
Telling an interviewing team (as someone who we interviewed did) “I have no idea what this company does” just shows what a huge waste of time (theirs and ours) their lack of preparation was.
There ARE times where an interview may cover all of your substantive questions and it may seem like there’s “nothing left to ask”, but I think it’s really important to come up with something for #9 that shows the interviewer that you were engaged and listening. And of course, if you WERE engaged and listening, that question should come to mind pretty organically.
#10 is interesting to me. I totally agree with what’s said in #10. But I also think if you’re doing the Vaseline-on-the-teeth-fakey smile about how fantastic all of you previous experiences were, that doesn’t read as real and can be a negative, too.
I think it’s important to be honest without turning it into that “therapy session” and be prepared with answers that shows what you learned from the experience – and any positives about the experience.
I have to agree somewhat with HRputer’s questioning of items 4 and 6. While I’m hopefully smart enough to realize that if I am desperate for a job, I’d better agree to and act enthusiastic about any job responsibility described in the interview (and then perform them with equal enthusiasm if I get the job, obviously), in better economic times I’d probably be more upfront about whether the job is right for me.
For example, I once interviewed for a job that was going to be mostly field work (this wasn’t clear from the description). I was honest with them about the fact that I was looking to cut down on field work rather than take on more, and I didn’t get called back–I knew I wouldn’t, and I was fine with that. Better that than waste their time and mine moving farther along in the process. Sometimes it’s not about “challenges” or not being willing to work hard; sometimes the job just isn’t a good fit.
As a candidate, I guess it would be to my advantage to pretend I was on board right up until if and when I got the offer, but as interviewers I’m assuming you guys would prefer that a candidate not waste time and resources pretending s/he is willing to do things that s/he would actually hate doing. This seems like it may lead not only to possible rejected offers or wasted second interviews, but also to people quitting a year into the job because they are miserable, which can’t be a good use of the company’s resources either. (Note, I am speaking from the perspective of a job seeker only–obviously I am completely clueless about HR and staffing.)
lol! oh my. This is excellent advice not only for job seekers, but for persons new to recruiting as well. When i was doing interviews with my editor for a sales person, we were in utter shock at some of the things we experienced. We honestly thought of writing a piece on job interview dos and don’ts as well.
I’ve certainly experienced Know-It-Nones (I mean you could hear the crickets chirping in her head). I’ve had some I categorized as Dressed to UNimpress, I’ve had a husband who brought his wife INTO the interview, I’ve had a guy who smelled like he sprayed the entire cologne department on him…it was all quite amusing.
@ Marc – Thanks for the clarity. I think it reads a little ambiguously as to what people should say “Yes” to – and perhaps intentionally so. It is truly situational.
As you put it “If you’re waffling on working hard and rising to the challenge a particular position offers, why did you walk in the door in the first place?” Regardless of what those challenges are.”
For me – cleaning grease traps would be “challenge” I might not want to “rise” to, but if the alternative was letting my family starve . . . pass me the rubber gloves and the nose plug.
@ Marc – Thanks for the clarity. I think it reads a little ambiguously as to what people should say “Yes” to – and perhaps intentionally so. It is truly situational.
As you put it “If you’re waffling on working hard and rising to the challenge a particular position offers, why did you walk in the door in the first place?” Regardless of what those challenges are.”
For me – cleaning grease traps would be “challenge” I might not want to “rise” to, but if the alternative was letting my family starve . . . pass me the rubber gloves and the nose plug.
Oops, should have mentioned great post! Waiting for the next post!
I want to thank Marc & John for blogging, today. Marc will be back to answer your comments (I can’t speak for him) but I think the discussion on 4 & 6 is interesting. I also like MattyMat’s response. What a team player!
On #4: I don’t think that this article is advocating pretending to be interested in a job that you aren’t. If you go on an interview and what you hear makes you want to walk away, I don’t think this is suggesting that you say “Yes, I’m interested. It all sounds great!” and I also don’t think they are suggesting that you agree happily to do things that would normally give you pause on a moral, or unethical basis.
What I do think they are suggesting is that if you do genuinely want the job you are interviewing for and the interviewer asks you if you would be willing to do something that might normally be out of your comfort zone, it would be in your best interest to not let the interviewer see you sweat this question but instead see you agree to rise to the challenge.
For example: you are interviewing for a great job and you find out in the interview that once a month you have to give a presentation to a group of senior staff members to brief them on the progress that you are making. You know you want this job and you know you could do it very well, but you are not at your most comfortable when public speaking. You are willing to give these presentations your best shot and this presentation situation is definitely not a deal breaker for you, but when you are sitting in the hot seat at the interview a momentary flash of panic hits you. Do you say, “Uuuuuh- I GUESS I wouldn’t mind that” or do say, “Sure! I can absolutely handle that!” You’re not lying, you just aren’t letting them see your momentary reservation.
Water finding it’s own level – everything being relative and all— I think that if you’re a nervous nelly— you’ll get hired at a company that likes nevous nellies! If you’re an A-hole? There’s a company full of a**holes that’ll roll a red carpet out for you.
((if you smell like elephant dung and scream expletives uncontrollably?? Sorry– got nuthin’…))
I guess I’m in the minority when I say that there is simply too much psychology behind what should be a simple task of a potential employer seeking work, and a employer seeking a good employee. We all know that no one is perfect, yet and still, with all this advice on appearing to be so during the hiring process, it appears that that simple bit of sagewisdom has gone out the window. Please read this article, “A Criticism of Employers in America” (http://beyond-the-political-spectrum.blogspot.com/search/label/Hiring%20Practices)
Great tips!
Wonderful tips- the smiley face made me laugh because i think i am guilty of that during job interviews haha.