1. Negativity – Just as positivity is contagious, negativity is also contagious. Negativity in any situation can kill a mood, kill a conversation and kill an opportunity to move forward in the interview process. I am not suggesting that nobody has a bad day or catches a bad break every now and again, but what I AM suggesting is that when a negative event surfaces itself that you internalize, journal it and share it in a non-leverage situation, such as with your mentor, a significant other or a good friend. Why? Because if you share that you are having a bad day with an interviewer, they could take that as “this individual is having a bad day. I wonder how often they have a bad day?” In a normal daily conversation with a friend or parent, this would not normally prove to be a setback, but in a highly competitive job market and interview process, the LAST thing you want running through anyone who could be a decision-maker in the interview process is that this particular candidate (you in my example) could bring negativity to the workplace. That is about one of the easiest ways to be disqualified from an interview process. Just don’t let that “someone” be you!
2. Showing Up Late to Interview – Wow! Does this still happen? The answer is yes it does happen and another surefire way to not advance in the interview process is to show up late. Remember, part of the interview process is the judgement of your character, and what better way to judge your character than whether you show up on time to your interview. If an extenuating circumstance does indeed arise like you are stuck in heavy unexpected traffic due to an accident, I recommend immediately calling the Human Resource representative you are working with and being upfront and honest with them on the situation. Showing up late to an interview is one thing, but showing up late to an interview without contacting someone at the Company you are interviewing with, shows bad judgement on two fronts. Don’t show up late to an interview, but if you are trending in that direction do not compound the situation by not exercising good judgement with a courtesy estimated time of arrival call.
3. Drugs (Drug Screen) – If the interview process continues to advance in a favorable direction, then you are one step closer to being drug tested. Every Company administers the drug test in different ways; some with a urine sample and others with a hair follicle test, and others that do both. I am here to tell you how to live your life, but what I AM here for is to prepare you for one of the inevitable end stages of the interview process. And remember that a Company is able to drug test the way they want, for the drugs they want. So, just because a particular type of drug may be legal in your state, an employer that operates in your state can still choose to not hire you if you tested positive for that particular drug.
4. Having a Vulgar Ring-Back Tone or Voicemail Greeting – Pretty straight forward here. Few people in decision making responsibilities in the workforce like negativity in the workplace and in an interview, and even FEWER of those type of people is accepting of vulgar music or vulgar language being played back in a ring-back tone or a recorded voicemail greeting. I can’t stress this enough, keep your professional life professional and your personal life personal. I am not here to lecture you on what you should and should not do in your personal life, but I AM here to guide you to make wise decisions as it relates to interviewing and workforce protocol. If you want to listen to vulgar music and speak vulgarities to others outside of the workplace, that is your call, but must also be cognizant that your cell phone is not only for personal calls and the such, but also for receiving phone calls and voicemail messages for interviews and advancement steps in the interview process. Since that is the case, be sure to not ruin an interview opportunity or advancement in the interview process because of an oversight in judgement. Oh, and by the way, if you are in the interview process and a Human Resources representative and/or hiring manager does get offended by a vulgar ring-back tone and/or recorded voicemail greeting of yours, they can put you on a list to not move forward for ANY job at that Company. A lapse in judgement may just cost you any chance you had at working for that particular Company. Think of every conceivable touchpoint that a Human Resource representative, hiring manager or any employee at a Company you are interviewing with may have with you and do your best to make those positive, up-beat, non-confrontational, and based on your qualifications and experience and not based on some song you might hear in the club or language you might use with your friends.
5. Making Controversial Social Media Posts – Companies are not 100% without scrutiny by shareholders, stakeholders, members of the media and former employees, but almost every Company will do their best to mitigate or avoid controversy at all costs if at all possible. With that being said, one of the last things any Company will accept, especially by a new hire to bring into the workplace is any action that could be deemed controversial, thus having a chance to end up on a news-feed online or regional and/or national newscast. Companies do have the right to look into the social media accounts of prospective employees during the interview process and even throughout the time of employment. During most application processes, there are releases that job candidates sign-off on that give the Company the ability to complete this activity. Usually, there is either a release form by itself, or it could be a clause or section of the background check that covers this topic. Think of it this way. If you were the CEO/Owner of an organization, would you hire or keep an employee that has the potential to shine a negative light on the hiring/employment practices (i.e. employ individuals that have the strong ability to bring negative publicity to the organization)? The correct answer would be NO! Stay in the game and off of the Company’s controversy radar.
6. Texting/Checking Email/Social Media Accounts During an Interview – Nothing can be ruder and more annoying than someone checking their phone during a regular workplace meeting, let alone for an interviewee to. Why? Meetings are called to solve or work towards solving a business problem or problems and that takes attention and participation by ALL of the meeting attendees. Anything that takes attention and participation in the meeting by ALL attendees away is a distraction that leads to inaction, longer meetings and more disgruntled employees. Don’t be the 1 out of 5 interviewees that checked their phone during the course of an interview. In fact, I highly recommend either turning your phone off or the ringer to silent and in EITHER case to put the phone in your purse/jacket pocket/pants pocket, or even leave in your vehicle weather permitting. Trust me on this, even if you don’t think it’s noticeable, it is. I have seen interviewees checking their phone at different points of an interviewee by glancing under the conference table thinking nobody sees them, but not only did I and my colleague interviewers see, but we also did not advance that candidate through the interview process. Whenever there is competition and job interviews are a competition between you and other job candidates, the decision makers will be looking for those things that distinguish candidates from the others, both in a positive and not so positive way. Checking your phone during an interview would be a negative and having and explaining the projects in your portfolio would be a positive that would distinguish a candidate from others, with everything else being equal.
7. Using Vulgar Language and/or Obscene Gestures During an Interview - This is an extreme that you don’t want to get anywhere close to.Besides being inappropriate in just about any situation in life, if using vulgar language and obscene gestures is something you do on a regular basis which I call a habit, you may want to steer clear from interviewing.Why?Because not only will this 100% of the time disqualify for contention for the job you are interviewing for, but depending you may also be escorted out of the interview by security and if you made any type of threat whatsoever, you may be taking a ride down to the police station.I bring this extreme up because I want you to be well-rounded and know not only the common things not to do while interviewing, but also the extreme and uncommon.
The author of this blog is Justin Alan Hayes, architect of The House of You and the leading Expert on career preparation, advancement and achievement, including how to maximize your collegiate career and inspiring others to make their dreams come true.
The House of You (https://www.thehouseofyou.com/shop/), has the most epic career preparation, achievement and advancement books available, titled “The House of You'“, which is being used inside and outside of the classroom by Professor’s, students and student athletes across the world, along with Professional instructional materials, cases, and resume consulting.