10 Things You Should Do On an Interview

A week ago or so, I told you 10 things you should not to do on an interview. Well, here are ten things I would highly recommend that you do:

1. Wear a suit, dress, not business casual, even if you know the office culture is wearing shorts and flip flops. Call me old-fashioned, out of touch, whatever, I think an interview warrants your best dress. I never dress up when I interview candidates, you can always look better than I do.

2. Make good eye contact with the hiring manager as you shake his hand. If you make good eye contact with me, I immediately sense you are confident. Although you could do something else later in the interview that may make me re-think that position. Keep it positive as long as you can!

3. When a tough question comes, take a moment to think about it or even ask for clarification. You may want to say “That is a good question.” I know when I am asking a tough question, so an acknowledgment that you need a few seconds to think before answering is okay by me.

4. Answer questions by giving examples whenever possible. I don’t want to know that you can answer a question because you studied up on something. I would prefer that you had an experience that you could share that relates to the question.

5. Don’t stare at me the entire time you talk to me. You want good eye contact, but not constant. You can really unnerve me if you do not occasionally glance at my dirty lunch plate from yesterday or the Mexican jumping beans sitting on my desk. Don’t close your eyes though. It reminds me of Winnie the Pooh, “think, think, think.”

6. Be natural and be yourself, unless you are somewhat of a nut by nature. Hopefully you know if you are a bit manic - it is OKAY. You just need to curb your lack of inhibition during the interview. Seriously, I want to meet the authentic YOU.

7. Use humor effectively, but not ad naseum. If you are naturally witty, use that to your advantage. I love people with a sense of humor and I love to laugh. Making me laugh once or twice during the interview makes it so much more bearable for both of us.

8. If I interrupt you while you are answering a question, let me do so. I may not always be polite, but I may be trying to get you to the point as you are start to ramble. I can save you if you take my cues. Keep talking on and on and you will hang yourself.

9. Give a compliment about something, even if it is hard. If you like the cubicles or he color of the walls in the office, tell me. If you like the other people you interviewed, tell me I have good people. Show me that you can give compliments. Don’t push it too far, though.

10. Smile. Even if it hurts. I don’t hire curmudgeons.