By Manotee Cornett

After conducting scores of interviews, I thought it was time to put out a couple of simple tips that, amazingly, not everyone must know. If you have an interview coming up, take note! If you're young, and no one has ever given you any advice on interviewing... take note! <Continued>  

1. Look sharp... clothes, hair, nails. (Don't show up in your sweats!) Be on time! Shake hands and make eye contact! Sit up straight, don’t be a slob in your chair. You will be expected to have done your research about the company and what they do.

2. Take a notebook or binder (and pen) with you! You may need something to write on. Even if you don't use it, at least you will look like you care! At the very least you can write the names of the interviewer(s) to send your thank you note.

3. Under no circumstances speak negatively about a past job, co-worker or company! Why would a company hire a person who talks like that?

4. Take at least 3 copies of your resume with you. One for yourself, and two extras. When you're nervous, it is nice to have so you can refer to it if needed. By the way, hit spell check before you send a resume!

5. Always have at least one or two questions ready for the interviewer… they may end the interview by asking you if you have any questions for them! This is the most important question of all that the interviewer may ask you. It could seal your fate as to whether or not you get the job. Avoid asking questions where the answers would be available on the company website, or that are known facts about the company. Make them open ended, and short. Ask intelligent questions and show your initiative!

If you don’t have any, here are a couple of easy ones for you:

a. What is the typical work day like here at xxx? What would my day to day responsibilities be?

b. What is the organizational structure of the team I would be working on?

c. What is the most important contribution I can make in the first 30 days?

d. Now that we’ve talked, and you know my qualifications, do you have any concerns regarding my capabilities?

- Avoid asking any questions that would have to do with, “what the company can do for you.”

6. Don’t interrupt the interviewer.

7. Don’t go on and on about your personal life or anything else not related to the position you are interviewing for!

8. Do not use cuss words or slang during an interview! Suggested words to avoid (yes, we actually hear things like this!): hell, ass, yeh, sucks, drunk and Idunno.

9. Be ready to answer these basic questions:

a. Why do you want to work here?

b. Why should we hire YOU?

c. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

d. Give me an example of when you've used your fact finding skills to solve a problem.

e. Give me an example of a time when you took initiative.

f. Tell me about yourself.

10. Smile and relax! Go get that job!

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