What NOT to do on an Interview..

Feel free to add your own:

I was interviewing a woman last week for a Customer Care / call center position. On paper she had a lot of experience. When I called her for the interview, I said I had an opening Friday morning at 11am. She said "Hmm...can we make it later? I have a cardio class at 11am". Um - ok - I am desperate to fill this spot so I agreed to move it to 2pm.

2pm rolls around and she comes in. From 2 - approx 245 she talked all about her experience and how much she hated each job and the people there. If you are a recruiter or have done any type of interviewing, you know that you always have to have control of the interview - this woman over-talked me, barely let me get a word in.

Final straw: Her cell phone rings. Easy mistake - could have forgotten to put it on vibrate etc. She takes it out of her bag. ANSWERS it. Says" Oh Hi! Yes, I am in a meeting right now. Can I call you back? Oh you are? What movie? Oh that sounds good - what time? Ok let me finish this up and I will call you right back!" WHATT!!! I was dumbfounded. The nerve to take a call and discuss what movie you are going to see! THEN she goes on to tell me that she is going to see The Women later that night.

Needless to say I wrapped it up immediately after that and called it a day!

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

I hope you hired her - she sounds like a gem.


I can't stand the long winded candidates. I interviewed one person where I literally forgot the question by the time she stopped talking.

Here are some tips regarding body language...

Don't swing your head so much that your PONY TAIL becomes distracting.

Don't tilt your chair back with your hands behind your head as if you have the job - you will not get it!

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where I used to work and interview I had a woman come in (the job was paying 40 to 50 which it said in the ad) and tell me how she makes 90k a year and she just wanted to see what was out here (in LI). She than proceeded to tell me how she works for this great company yada yada yada yada (she was making more than me) anyway she was getting nasty when I said to her obvioulsy we cannot meet your salary so I wish you luck in your search. She called me back two weekslater apparently she got laid off and since she and I hit it off so well she wouuld accept the lower salary. NOT

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

Iwanted to add
be nice to everyone
you never know!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

Hah! That's funny! I had someone answer her cell during an interview too!!! I thought, same as you, that she left it on by accident and was just going to turn it off but nope, she answered it!!! I was stunned. I would never have the nerve to do that. I would have had a heart attack if my cell went off during an interview.

Needless to say, she didn't get the job.

Oh, and another thing....if you are going to interview at a law firm, wear a suit. Come on now. Even if you only have one, put it on!!! I was amazed at the outfits some of these people wore. No excuses either like I am here during lunch and I don't want my other job to know I'm looking. Unbelievable.

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Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

i fell over laughing at some of this stuff! it is amazing that some people can be that stupid.

my old boss used to show us funny resumes/cover letters when she was hiring receptionists (we only had one - but they usually didn't work out.) i saw cover letters that were scribbled diagonally hand written and people who sent headshots (my job is NOT model related) with their boobs sticking out.

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

If you have long hair pull it back into a ponytail or at least make sure itas not in your face so you're not constantly fidgeting with your hair, or twirling curls with your fingers

Be professional. Dress appropriately, good posture, firm handshake. Do not come dressed casually or slouching.

Do not talk over the interviewer, take your time answering questions, but not be long winded.

Try to know some info about the company before the interview. Do some research so you know what to expect so you're not sitting there clueless.

ETA: do not wear flashy jewelry or overwhelming perfume.

Message edited 9/17/2008 10:29:21 PM.

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

At a former agency, I had to let a woman go after a couple weeks because she broke every rule in the book from not showing up to meetings with clients, just being MIA in general and overall, completely unprofessional (chewing gum like a cow, texting on her phone and rolling her eyes in front of people from the state who oversaw our program).

Every month after that she would send me an email and her resume begging for her job back saying "Oh, I just had soooooooooo much going on in my life and I am a MUCH better person now"........

I have lotsa stories about employees because I work in human services, and I think this field tends to attract people who have unresolved issues themselves who are in serious need of treatment.

It's pretty scary. I also have found that the more "powerful" people are job-position-wise, usually the "crazier" they are. Maybe I should start a spin-off thread about that!

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

Since I have been interviewing a lot lately, I have some funny stories from the other side of the desk.

I had a 9am interview downtown so of course I was there at 8:50am. 9:25am the woman comes to the reception area, "I'm sorry, I forgot about you." The actual interview was like an episode from The Office. "It's so early, I don't know where I put my questions. Do you have questions for me."

After that gem, I had another interview on the other side of town...a cute older woman who kept asking me the same question phrased differently to see if I would change my mind. "Why are you thinking of leaving your current position?" "What don't you like about your current position?" "Is there a reason you are unhappy with your current position?" Was she expecting me to break down and tell her, "I hate my boss." That was not happening...1 hr 30 mins later the interview was over and I had a migraine.

Re: What NOT to do on an Interview..

unreal!!!!

and the cell phone? I ALWAYS shut mine off before I even walked in the building.