So we’ve been hiring at our Center.
With. Very. Little. Luck.
Let me qualify this post with a very strong caveat: I am by no means an expert after my (*ahem*) measly week of interviewing. I am still a spring-green newbie, and let’s face it, barely starting out in professional life myself. However, I have enjoyed seeing how my bosses react to candidates both during and after the interview, so I now feel like I have a teeny-tiny inside scoop on how job hopefuls come across to potential employers.
Also, sharing these my opinions feels redundant because either 1) everybody already says these things, or 2) they’re common sense. But since I’m enjoying my tiny piece of experience on the other side of the interview table, I thought I’d write about what I’m learning.
That being said, here are the top five no-no’s I’ve learned this week for those wanting to earn themselves a job.
#1 – Don’t be late. Be early.
It really is true that often, the interviewer has made up his or her mind about a candidate after the first five minutes.
Some candidates lost the job before they ever walked in the door – because they walked through it late (or worse, never walked through it at all.) As unsympathetic as it may sound, I don’t care what pet you had to corral, which household task you just had to finish up, or how difficult it was to find a parking spot. You had an interview. You didn’t follow through on the time.
Plan ahead. And if you’re going to be delayed, at least call to let us know. And when you show up, let it be 15 minutes early, not 5 minutes late.
If you can’t be on time for the interview, I assume you can’t be on time for your job.
Big no-no.
Keri Allen 