Having been out of college for the past two years now, I can’t tell you enough how important it is in utilizing EVERYTHING the college has to offer. Time goes by so fast in college, even though you are probably procrastinating the hell out of that paper that’s due tomorrow. Whether you live on campus or commute, take the time to join groups, get that internship, and work on that resume (as well as that paper that’s due tomorrow). You are in college for a reason: to get a job. Make sure that when you do get that interview for that dream job you’ve always wanted, DO NOT DO THE FOLLOWING:
10) Be Late. Make an effort to be on time. Don’t be an hour early, but being 15 minutes early won’t hurt you. Especially if you have paperwork to fill out.
9) Be Unprepared and/or Dress Inappropriately. Do your research about the company and position you are interviewing for. Know about the competitors and what the company has accomplished in the past couple years. Have a couple copies of your resume, cover letter, and references on hand just in case there is more than one person interviewing you. Also, make sure you are dressed to impress and not like you are going out on the town. Investing in a nice suit, pants, or blazer now can go a long way.
8) Be Rude to the Receptionist and/or Anyone You Might Have Constant Contact with in the Future. Unless you’re Joan Holloway, your chances of getting away with saying how you really feel to your least favorite coworker is quite slim. ALWAYS be nice to the receptionist and other interns/assistants, their opinion of you is sometimes looked upon by the person who is interviewing you.
7) Bad Mouth Your Current Employer or Past Employers. As much as you don’t like your current job situation, bad mouthing your boss can seriously hurt you in the long run. Saying something along the lines of “wasn’t a perfect fit” or “there was no longer room to grow in the company” is a lot better than saying that your boss was “too cheap to give you an actual job.”
6) Claim You Have No Weaknesses (Because even Superman had a Weakness). You can be really great working on a tight schedule but how well are you working as a team? Being honest is the best policy for this one. This gives your interviewer an idea of where your perfect fit might be in the company or they might be able to provide you with some tools to get better.
5) Not Being Able to Give Specific Examples in Response to Questions. Give some real life examples that you have faced with various jobs you have held. It doesn’t matter if it was Dunkin Donuts or working as a Camp Counselor. If you streamlined a new way to have the coffee ready for customers or organized the annual camp dance, THAT COUNTS! This is a gateway at seeing what kind of jobs you’ve had in the past but also your personality and how it contributes to getting a job done.
4) Answering Your Cell/Texting in the Middle of the Interview. This is pretty straight forward but if someone is dying and or someone is expecting a baby in your family, let the interviewer know that you might have to leave in case of an emergency. Most of the time they understand. However, any other time make sure your phone is on silent. Nothing can ruin an interview more than an obnoxious ding from your friend wondering about the party later that night.
3) Sharing Inappropriately. Sometimes when you live in a small town and have an interview with a company in that small town, word gets out pretty fast and rumors spread like wild fire. If your interviewer starts gossiping or talking about what they did last night, as much as you would like to join them please try to direct the interview back to the situation at hand. You can enjoy talking to them about that kind of stuff once you get the job and are more acquainted with each other.
2) Lie about Anything. Do not say that your great at Adobe Creative Suite and have never gone near it in your life. Do not say that you can speak a certain language when you cannot. This can seriously kick you in the butt down the road when you get called upon to work on special projects and you are the only one in the group with “5 years experience working on coding” and all you know is simple HTML.
1) DO NOT FAIL TO FOLLOWUP! After the interview make sure you send an email or a personal hand written note to the person that interviewed you and THANK THEM! If you still haven’t heard back in a week or a certain deadline, give them a call. You cannot depend on them to remember to get back to you, especially if they are very busy or a higher up. It also let’s them know that you really want the job because in all honesty, YOU REALLY DO WANT THAT JOB!
