7 tips to totally blow a job interview

I’ve been interviewing potential administrative assistants for the past couple of weeks. During this process, and over many years of hiring for other positions, there are a few things I’ve noticed people doing (or not doing) that takes them totally out of the running for consideration.

(Cartoon by David Farley)

As a public service, I’m sharing a few thoughts here on what NOT to do if you are interviewing for a position:

#1 Don’t follow the instructions for submitting your resume. If they ask you to email it, fax it instead. If they ask you to send it by postal mail, it’s easier just to email it, right? Hiring managers love to hire people who can’t follow simple directions.

#2 Before the interview, don’t do ANY research on the company you are hoping to work for. It’s really better if you have no idea what the company does, or who is behind it. That way, you won’t have any pre-conceived ideas about how you might add value to the organization

#3 During the interview, be sure to cut the interviewer off and start answering before he/she finishes a question. You are sure to give a 100% answer with only 50% of the question.

#4 When discussing salary, please go on and on about how much value you added to your last company just before you were LAID OFF.

#5 Don’t dress up. All offices are casual these days, right? So set the proper attire expectations by wearing jeans and a t-shirt to your interview.

#6 Make yourself invisible by avoiding business social networking sites like LinkedIn. And under NO circumstances should you have any references or testimonials about your work. The less a hiring manager can find out about you, the more likely they are to hire you, right?

#7 After the interview, don’t clutter up the interviewers mail box with a thank you note. This would really set you apart from the crowd…and nobody likes a show-off.

Bonus tip: Don’t show up for your interview at all. (This just happened to me this morning. It really made my day)