Most of us know how to behave in an interview, or at least we think we do. Well, we wanted to know just how many people actually use proper interview etiquette, so for the last two weeks we have been tracking the most common behaviors we see when people come in for an interview. All of these should be avoided, but it may shock you just how many people aren’t on their best behavior during their interview.
Late
Across the board, our recruiters experienced only a handful of candidates running late. About nine percent of the people scheduled for interviews arrived late (within ten minutes of their scheduled time). It may not seem like much of a big deal being only a few minutes late, but in an office like ours, recruiters have interviews back-to-back all day. If you arrive five to ten minutes late in some cases, the remaining time left isn’t enough to conduct the interview; especially if the recruiter has someone scheduled right after you. Always do your best to arrive on time, and if you don’t call and let them know you will be running late and be prepared to reschedule if need be.
No Resume
Not having a resume for an interview is one of the BIGGEST mistakes you can make. The resume is the most important tool you have in your job seeking arsenal so it needs to be up-to-date, well organized, and you should have several copies of it on hand. That being said, around eighteen percent of the applicants that came in for their interview didn’t have a resume with them. Always make sure when you leave for your interview that your resume is in hand and ready to go.
Inappropriate Clothing
You always want to make sure you dress the part for your interview. What you wear says a lot about who you are, and you want to put your best foot forward. That didn’t stop almost twenty-three percent of our interviewees from coming in wearing inappropriate clothing (i.e. anything with holes/tears, graphic designs, tank tops, anything displaying foul language, etc). When you go in for an interview, or any professional event, dress for the occasion. At the very least, you should dress business casual (dress shirt, dress pants, dress shoes, etc.)
Eating/Chewing Gum
We get it. People get hungry. And a lot of our interviews are scheduled around breakfast and lunch time. Always make sure you try to eat something before your interview if you think you’ll get hungry during it, and if you’re about to head in for your interview and hunger hits you, wait until afterwards to get food. Over the last two weeks, about five percent of applicants came into the office with a bag of food that they were eating while they were being interviewed. On top of avoiding eating, you will want to spit out any gum you happen to have in your mouth before meeting with a recruiter. The constant chewing is not only distracting, but can cause you to mispronounce and trip over your words.
Foul Language
Remember that whole “best foot forward” thing? That doesn’t just include dressing professionally, but speaking professionally as well. About four percent of people used foul language or swore during their interview. This is one of the quickest ways to put a recruiter off. The use of foul language communicates hot-headedness, impatience, and is very unprofessional. No recruiter wants to send their client someone with a foul mouth, as it reflects badly on themselves and their company. Keep it clean, and if you do have a slip-up, apologize and continue the interview without lingering on it for too long.
Using Phone
During your interview, you want to give the recruiter your full attention and limit distractions that would pull your focus away from them. The biggest attention hog in our daily lives is our phones, and it was apparent that the attention problem associated with smart phones even spread to our interviews. Around five percent of people were on their phones at some point during their meeting with our recruiters. Like we said, you want to give your interviewer your full attention not just because you want the job, but because its respectful as they have taken time out of their day to speak with you. No one likes talking to a brick wall, so always keep your phone on silent and in your pocket or tucked away elsewhere.
Fist Bump
This wasn’t even on our list… until it happened. One person, rather than ending their interview with a handshake, went for a pretty awkward fist bump. Always keep it professional, even if your interviewer seems more casual and laid back. A fist bump is not the best move when you’re trying to convince a recruiter you’re right for a position. Just stick to a nice, firm handshake. It communicates confidence, competence, and doesn’t put anyone in that awkward situation of reaching for a handshake and meeting a closed fist instead.
Stand-Out Week
While many of our recruiters were tracking these behaviors, one seemed to have some bad luck when it came to her interviews. Out of the sixty-five people she had scheduled for the two week period, she only interviewed twenty-two. Nine people did call to either cancel or reschedule, but THIRTY-FOUR people didn’t even show up for or cancel their interview! That’s more than HALF! No call no shows to interviews are unacceptable. The very least you could do is call or even email your interviewer to let them know you won’t be coming in for the interview. This allows the recruiter to more efficiently use their time completing other tasks, instead of waiting for an interview that isn’t happening.
-Tyler Geeve, Marketing/Recruiter Assistant
*Data collected by Staff Source Recruiters*