911爆料

Despite recent optimistic claiming that employers are expected to hire more college graduates in 2012 than last year, the Associated Press that half of our country鈥檚 young adults with bachelor鈥檚 degrees are unemployed or underemployed.

If your resume leads to an in-person interview, consider yourself fortunate but remember that multiple job candidates are most likely being considered for the position. Far too often, job seekers make simple mistakes they could have avoided. Remember the following common interview mistakes as you begin your quest for the perfect job!

1. Arriving late.

Sneaking into class 15 minutes late might have been okay during college, but it鈥檚 not a great idea in the workplace鈥攅specially before you鈥檝e even been hired! Don鈥檛 forget that the person who is interviewing you is on a schedule. If you arrive late, you are disrupting their schedule for the rest of the day and most likely throwing your chances of being hired out the window. Peter Post, author of The Etiquette Advantage in Business, arriving right on time. Showing up too early can also be awkward for the interviewer or their assistant, so if you get to the interview more than 10 minutes early, wait in your car or a nearby shop or restaurant.

2. Dressing inappropriately.

Your resume helped form a prospective employer鈥檚 initial opinion of you. Don鈥檛 make them change their mind as soon as you walk in the door by wearing a miniskirt, ripped jeans or flip flops. Although many companies have a business casual dress policy that is more lenient than office attire of the past, people often make the mistake of under-dressing or over-dressing for job interviews. Lindsay Olson of recommends leaving the nose ring at home, wearing subtle colors and dressing for the company鈥檚 culture, even stating that it鈥檚 fine to ask a hiring manager about the office dress code. You also want to make sure your outfit is current鈥攁s opposed to the dress you wore to a wedding when you were fourteen or your dad鈥檚 old suit鈥攁nd clean. No stains or holes!

3. Answering the phone or texting during the interview.

In a recent nationwide conducted by Harris Interactive, 77 percent of hiring managers polled said that answering a cell phone or texting during an interview is the most common mistake that can slash your chances of getting the job. If you must bring your phone into an interview, turn it off鈥攜es, people can hear the vibrate function鈥攁nd stick it in your purse or briefcase.

4. Badmouthing former employers or co-workers.

You鈥檒l most likely be asked about your previous work experience during a job interview. Even though we all know bad managers and coworkers do exist, don鈥檛 speak negatively about anyone. Alison Green explains that badmouthing former employers during a job interview raises all kinds of questions about you and even causes interviewers to wonder what things you might say about them one day!

5. Lying.

Everyone tries to paint a prettier picture of themselves during job interviews, but outright lying is a no-no. Alan Guinn of The Guinn Consultancy Group 鈥減ositioning your answers so that you are the responsible party rather than the one to blame.鈥� If you were fired, be up-front about it. If you have something criminal on your record from years and years ago, fess up.

6. Being unprepared.

Before your big interview, revisit your prospective employer鈥檚 website and do some research. Learn what the company does and why they do it. recommends reading and understanding the company鈥檚 mission statement and suggests searching the Internet for mentions of the company in press releases or recent news articles. If the company鈥檚 website has a search tool or biography pages, see if you can find information about the person who is interviewing you. There’s no need to memorize every tiny detail about a company and its history, but arriving at an interview without any idea what goes on there is a bad idea.

7. Talking too much.

Job interviews can cause major stomach butterflies. Some people clam up when they are nervous, but others just can鈥檛 shut up. Although you want to answer an interviewer鈥檚 questions completely and make yourself stand out from the crowd, talking too much or asking too many questions of your own does more harm than good. 鈥淲hen they say at the end, 鈥榙o you have any questions for me,鈥� the answer should be 鈥榥o, I’m really excited about this opportunity and I think it’s going to be a great fit.鈥� You want to sell it instead,鈥� career strategist Cynthia Shapiro told

8. Acting arrogant or appearing bored.

Having self confidence is one thing, but acting like you鈥檙e better than everyone around you is another. highlighted CareerBuilder.com鈥檚 2011 Interview Mistakes survey and a whopping 66 percent of hiring managers revealed that appearing arrogant was a frequent interview mistake that kept them from hiring an applicant. You might have a shiny new college degree, but that doesn’t mean you’re mightier than everyone else in the world.

9. Chewing gum.

With 59 percent of poll respondents listing it as an interview blunder, chewing gum rated nearly as poorly on CareerBuilder’s 2011 survey as appearing arrogant. That said, snapping gum or blowing bubbles while you鈥檙e being questioned about your merits isn鈥檛 a wise idea. If you鈥檙e worried about your breath, pop a mint before the interview.

10. Whining about your job search.

If you鈥檝e been job hunting for months without success, leave the complaints about the economy to your friends and family. Dan Miranda of suggests emphasizing why you鈥檙e the perfect job candidate rather than complaining and states that even if the interviewer seems sympathetic, 鈥渄on鈥檛 blather.鈥�

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Posted on 23 Apr

Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the University of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.