Be Punctual
If you are unfamiliar with the area of where the interview will occur, travel to the location beforehand to get an estimate of the amount of time required to travel.
On the day of the interview, ideally you should arrive no more than 15 – 20 minutes before the interview. Arriving any sooner can convey overly eagerness or a lack of planning on your part.
Finally, when scheduling your interview schedule, it at time that provides you flexibility. This means, schedule for a time when you don’t feel rushed and if needed, you can be flexible.
Look professional – dress to impress
First impressions are lasting impressions. You don’t need to spend a million dollars to look like a million dollars. Instead, make sure you dress appropriately for the interview, your hair is an appropriate length, your hair is washed and combed. Likewise, make sure to brush your teeth, your breath is fresh and you don’t smell like cigarette smoke.
When travelling to the interview site, driving or taking public transport can ruffle nicely ironed clothes. Before going in, take a moment to comb hair again, straighten clothes, and use a mint to freshen breath.
Also, if you have ear buds in or headphones on take them off and finally turn off your mobile / cellular phone.
Talk confidently and politely
Before going in to the building, look at the name of the person you need to ask for on the invite to the interview. Remember, the person you will first see will be the security guard or a receptionist. Whilst, they will not be interviewing you, they do know the person who will. If you are rude to them, it will get back to the person interviewing you and the hiring manager may how you were towards them. Rule of thumb here, be confident, be courteous, and be understanding.
Show Flexibility
Remember, the people who are interviewing you also have jobs and the demands of their role cannot stop because they are interviewing. Also, remember there are other people interviewing for the role and the business does have a choice of applicants to fill the role.
Sometimes, the unexpected happens. Whereby the interviews run over or the interviewers run late. If you are told something unexpected, act as those you expected it and you are willing to work with them to accommodate it.
By doing this, it demonstrates flexibility and ability to adapt to changing requirements.
Prepare for the interview
Once the interviewers bring you into the room, your nervousness will come through. The more you have prepared for the interview, the less likely your nervousness will show and instead your preparation will show.
Make Eye Contact
Before COVID I would state have a firm handshake. However in the COVID world many interviews are occurring online and those that occur in person require some form of social distancing. Nonetheless, regardless if you are having an interview online or in person, it is important to make eye contact. Eye contact shows sincerity, confidence, and it draws the panel to your story.
Don’t ask if they feel you are qualified for the role
One interview technique I was taught was to ask, if the interviewers felt I was qualified for the role and I was told it showed confidence.
By asking the question, it forces a decision to be made and it forces the decision to be made without reviewing all the information.
From my experience this technique is detrimental, and I would no ask it.
Don’t try to negotiate salary
No matter how well you feel the interview went, the interviewers may have a different opinion. Therefore, it is best not to ask anything about pay until the offer is made. Then, before accepting the offer, you can ask about salary and begin your negotiations.
If you need accommodation for the role, approach it tactfully
Not all disabilities are seen and people interviewing you, may not know you have a disability, especially if you have not asked for a reasonable accommodation for the interview. If your application asks about disabilities and you have one, it is good to declare it at that point and once the business contacts you for an interview, it is important that you raise that you need accommodation for the interview (e.g. interpreter if you are deaf, someone to guide you to the room if you are blind, or any other assistance).
In contrast, should you need an accommodation for the job and not the interview, like not to be seated by a window or vent because you have asthma then it may be better to wait until the offer is made to discuss.
Ask questions, but don’t dominate
Being comfortable in an interview is a sign of confidence. However, it is easy to forget this is an interviewing situation and impression is everything.
Granted, interviewers want you to ask questions to help you understand the role, to repeat a question, and to clarify a question.
Asking questions shows you are engaged, and you have an interest in the role. Nonetheless, asking too many questions, will make the interview run longer than expected and impact other interviewees. Therefore, it is important to only ask the most relevant questions and save other questions for when the offer is made.
Be positive
It is easy to become negative, especially if you are talking about a situation that led you to apply for another job. When you begin to get negative, it will adversely impact your interview because employers don’t want to hire someone that will speak poorly about them and they don’t want to hire someone that may cause issues for other workers.
Instead, when speaking about a negative situation, it is better to talk about it factually and neutrally along with including anything you learned from it.
If you need help with how to reframe a negative situation, please get in contact with us by using the contact form.
Don’t Send a Thank You Card
While it is courteous, at the end of the interview, to thank the interview panel for their time. Sending a thank you card after the interview is not necessary. Why? Before email and hard drives, CVs were sent via post, mail. After an interview, to ensure the interviewer remembers you, it was common practice sending a thank you card. It was sent to express interest in the role and help increase your chance of a job offer
Now, in order to comply with various employment laws to ensure interviews are conducted fairly, equally, and inclusively many interviews are scored based on the role requirements. This means sending a thank you card is irrelevant.
Contact Us
If you have questions regarding appropriate interviewing ettiquette or any other questions then please feel free to contact us.
Hits: 44
Wow…definitely some things to think about. All of these tips are good, but the one that really stood out to me was not trying to negotiate salary at the beginning. This does make sense to me, and I guess I will just fall back a bit and hear the interviewer out before jumping to the salary conversation too quick. Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for the comment. Glad to help. Any questions please feel free to email us at contactus@exclusivecareeradvice.com
The importance of being punctual can’t be overstated. It helps a great deal with peace of mind and generally being relaxed and stress free.
Being well groomed can improve your chances of being successful in the interview. The key is not to overdress or underdress.
The worst thing that can happen to anyone is panicking during the interview. It really throws you off guard and you forget almost everything you learnt during the preparation process
Generally having a positive mindset can make the interview process a walk in the park. Care should be taken so that you are not being too over confident however.
The behaviour and body language both is very important in interview. And, the most important for me is the eye contact i.e. mentioned above that we should be making with the interviewer.
Being polite and well behaved is actually part of the interview process too in almost all cases. Good etiquette during an interview is therefore of utmost importance.
I never knew there existed such a thing as sending a thank you card after an interview. I guess that was a bit before my time.
Thanks for pointing out the fact that the interviewee should only ask relevant questions so as not to drag the interview for too long. It’s important to be considerate enough to let the other interviewees also have a chance.
Your tips are always on point. I like the dress professional because it is one area applicants don’t take seriously. But it one area interviewers look at.
The never try to negotiate your salary bit caught me by surprise. For some reason I’ve always thought that was acceptable. Thanks for the correction.
I am definitely bookmarking this page for reference when I next have an interview. There is a ton of valuable advice here!!
You have a vast wealth of knowledge as pertains to the recruitment process. I am already learning a lot and I look forward to even more wonderful articles.
I believe in proper and thorough preparation before any interview. It helps with confidence and calms the nerves if you’re well prepared
To be honest when i was much younger going for an interview then was like being a lamb going to the slaughter house. But gradually my confidence level grew. Going by the pandemic, I actually prefer online interviews, knowing I am in my comfort zone gives me an edge and makes me somewhat comfortable. However I am noting down all these tips for future reference. Thanks a lot.
I agree with the list, especially the part of not negotiating salary if the interviewer mentions it cool but it should not come from you considering the fact that you are a rookie. i know there are companies that lay it on the table from the jump but for me as a rookie I cannot be picky because I have not proven myself yet, As long as the conditions are fair then I am fine with it.
Interview is really hard this day, especially when you are tested. We should always the tactful in answering and integrity is also important. Thanks for this guides