Here are just a few suggestions on what you shouldn't do at an interview.
(1) Don't turn up late - A few minutes early is good, but no more than 5 minutes ahead of your scheduled interview time and never be late! Give yourself plenty of time and allow for traffic or delays.
(2) Don't wear stained or crumpled clothing – First impressions definitely count, so your clothes need to be clean and ironed – and don’t forget to make sure your shoes are clean!
(3) Don't attend an interview without knowing anything about the company – all interviewers will expect candidates to have researched their organisation and know what they do at the very least! Look at their website and any relevant, recent news items relating to their service or products. The more knowledge you have, the more you’ll appear interested in the role and the company
(4) Don't forget to turn off your mobile phone – no excuses here. Before entering the building, ensure your phone is off and out of sight!
(5) Don't lose eye contact with interviewers – don’t lose focus and start looking round the room - or even worse - at your watch! Maintaining eye contact is crucial and if there’s more than one interviewer, try and glance at each of them from time to time when answering a question
(6) Don't talk too much! – you may be really enthusiastic about the role and want to tell them all the reasons why they should employ you, but if you bombard interviewers with too much information, they won't be able to properly assess your suitability for the role. Make sure you listen to their questions carefully and structure your responses so that they hear what they need. (https://www.interview.nz/post/the-star-method has some tips)
(7) Don't talk about your previous or current employer negatively – there are ways you can explain why you’re looking to move on or why you left a past role without being disrespectful or complaining about your boss/company/co-workers
(8) Don’t talk about salary/holidays/benefits at first interview. You’ll get chance to cover these off if you progress through the process, but at first interview, it’s never a good look to talk about these – unless of course the interviewers bring up the subject!
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