As a middle aged "Old Dude" who has interviewed his share of teenagers I have the following advice:
Don't pick your nose, chew your nails or play with your hair before, during or after the interview.
Be sure to take a shower and wash your hair before you leave home. Then comb your hair, and shave if you're a guy.
If you're a guy, and you interview for an office job wear a long sleeved shirt, tie, and long pants. Make sure the shirt and pants have been ironed, tuck your shirt into your pants and make sure your underwear does not show. Do not wear sneakers, flip-flops or sandals, but do wear socks, not white ones. If you're not interviewing for an office job, all of the above applies, but you can lose the tie.
If you're a girl, skirts should not be more than 2 inches above the knee, any more and I might want to take you out for drinks, but not hire you. Don't wear a t-shirt with your favorite band's logo on it, interviewers don't think it's "cute". Don't wear anything you think of as "cute", wear what you think of as "boring". If you wear a skirt, wear stockings and not the fishnet kind either. Keep it down with the makeup.
Lose the piercings, girls are allowed discrete earrings, not the huge dangly kind, guys no jewelery of any kind except a watch and maybe a ring as long as it doesn't cover more than one finger.
When meeting the interviewer shake hands firmly and look him/her in the eye, smile and say something like "Nice to meet you"
Do not say things like "yah, like, duh" and roll your eyes, you're not in high school and I'm not you're flipping mother, that's the shortest way for an employment application to end up in the shredder.
Don't ask; "Do you guys have medical, 'cause, like I'm sick ALL the time..." Now the shredder is working overtime.
Speak in a normal and clear voice, don't yell but don't mumble either, look at the interviewer in the eye, don't stare at the floor, the ceiling, the traffic outside the window. Focus.
If you're a guy and in the middle of the interview the interviewer's really hot assistant walks in with a piece of paper for him to sign, do not check her out and ogle. Yes, she's there as a test to see if you can handle being around customers and coworkers in a professional manner.
Don't lie, ever, it will catch up. If you're asked whether you've done some kind of work tell the truth. For example if asked if you have ever dealt with customers before, and you haven't, say so, but you can add that you always really get along with everyone and that you like to meet new people.
Don't chew gum or anything else for that matter, don't go in with your breakfast or lunch or even a drink save it for later.
Be polite, say: please, thank you, you're welcome, yes and no instead of uh huh and ah ah. If you have to cough or clear your throat put you left hand in front of it, not your right hand because that's the hand you shake hands with, and no one wants to shake a hand you just sneezed into.
Guys, don't arrange "the package" during the interview or while waiting for the interviewer, you're not in a baseball field.
All of the above advice is not just for teenagers, it's for everyone, it's amazing to me that there are people in their 30's and even 40's that don't know how to act in public and they've just gotten away with stuff all of their lives. Now we're in a really tough job market, for a filing clerk position I got 1,200 resumes and yet some people come into the reception to fill out an application with clothes that look like they've been slept in, a "tough guy" attitude, popping gum and greet me with a "hey man".
I've seen it all.
Answered By: likurim - 7/19/2009 |