Survival Guide
Interview mess-ups you won't believeCall it human nature, Murphy's Law or just plain bad luck, but we all mess up once in a while. |
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And whether it's on the job or while trying to land a job, sometimes the only comfort we can hold on to is knowing other people have messed up, too -- and even worse than you have.
OfficeTeam, one of the country's leading temp services for administrative professionals, recently conducted a survey asking executives to recount the most embarrassing job interview moments they had heard of or witnessed.
"Although extreme, these examples illustrate the importance of interview basics," says Dave Willmer, OfficeTeam's executive director.
"To be considered for a job, candidates must prepare well, dress appropriately and provide compelling information about themselves."
Here are some examples of what likely won't get you the job:
"The candidate sent his sister to interview in his place."
"The person was dancing during the interview. He kept saying things like, 'I love life!' and 'Oh yeah!'"
"A job applicant came in for an interview with a cockatoo on his shoulder."
"The candidate stopped the interview and asked me if I had a cigarette."
"We had one person who walked out of an interview into a glass door -- and the glass shattered."
Willmer underlines the need for job candidates to do their homework before a job interview. That's not what the following candidates did, though:
"The candidate got his companies confused and repeatedly mentioned the strengths of a competing firm, thinking that's who he was interviewing with."
"A guy called me by the wrong name during the entire interview."
"We're a retail company, and when we asked the
candidate why she wanted to work for us, she said she didn't want to work in retail anymore."
Body language is also important in a job interview. Here's what not to do:
"An interviewee put his bubble gum in his hand,
forgot about it and then shook my hand."
"A job seeker gestured with his hands so much that he sat on them to stop it."
"A candidate fell asleep during the interview."
Of course, sometimes it's important to not say too much, like one job applicant did:
"An applicant was doing really well in the interview until she got to the reason she left her other job.
She told us everyone was out to get her."
Willmer says that interviews that get off track can be saved, with some quick thinking.
"Handling problems gracefully may actually
impress interviewers," he says. "But if the situation can't be overcome, move on and focus on the next opportunity.
"It's a learning experience that will someday make an entertaining story," Willmer adds.
Do you have you a bad boss?