There is not much else that is as stressful as a job interview. Here are 5 ways to blow a job interview from a professional.
I am not to proud to admit that when I was younger, I blew quite a few job interviews. Looking for a job is hard, and I figured that you learn from your mistakes. So, I ended up with a whole lot of experience in what not to do in an interview. Some of the interviews ended with an immediate job offer, others said they were looking for someone right away but didn't call me back for several months, while still others opted not to hire me at all. It's just the way it goes. As I matured, I became better at interviewing, and now it is not such a stressful proposition.
Seeing how I am such a professional when it comes to blowing job interviews, I decided to share my expertise with you, even though I never made most of these mistakes personally.
Here are 5 more ways to blow a job interview:
- Be rude to the staff – If you are greeted by a secretary or an assistant, feel free to be as rude as possible to them. They are the little people and need to be put in their places immediately. If you miss this opportunity at the beginning, they will start to think that you are their equal and that you are all on the same team. You can't have that. It is sort of like how they tell guys that if they get put in jail they should just punch someone to send a message that they aren't afraid to fight. Yeah, like that.
- Send messages to everyone who works in the department-hourly – Stalking is the new handshake. At least that's what I've heard. If you want them to know how dedicated you are, and how much you would kill to work there, just start calling people that work in the office you applied at. When you get connected to their voice mail, ask them why they haven't offered you the job. It doesn't matter if they aren't the person you interviewed with. Think of it like that movie, “The Shawshank Redemption”, and do a modern version of Andy's theory of sending a letter daily, and once they say don't write us anymore, start sending two. They can't ignore you forever, and eventually they'll give you the job.
- Show the interviewer how aggressive you are – You have to set the pace at these things. Show the interviewer who is in charge by making sure that you are the one asking the questions. How else are you going to know if you want to work there? Make sure that the interviewer knows who you are and treats you with the deference and respect you deserve. Don't be afraid to name drop and threaten the interviewers job at least once. This way, they'll know that you are determined and don't take crap.
- Use the time to share horror stories about your previous employer – Interviewers eat that stuff up, trust me. This works especially good when the company you are interviewing at is in the same industry as your previous employer or employers. Go down the list and tell them all of the bad things that happened while you worked for those jerks. It will make them feel better about themselves and their company. The goal is to make them understand how persecuted you have been at every job, so that they will take pity on you and give you a job and a cookie.
- Be crazy – Employers want to hire people who can “think outside of the box”. Between you and me, that's just fancy talk for people who are crazy. If you don't think that you are all that crazy, no worries, you can totally fake it for the interview. It's all a part of putting your best foot forward. So, make sure that you give insane answers to their questions or better yet, give them your answers in haiku. The crazier you can be, the better your odds are of standing out from the other applicants.
There are lots of ways to completely blow an interview. These are just a few.
Are there any other ways that I forgot? Let me know in the comments.
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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for SalesHeadsBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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