The Job Interview and how to fail it

One of the tasks of my job is to conduct interviews; there is a lot involved, it isn't just asking questions. As always, first impressions are the most important and you have no idea how many people just fail right there.  Once I had a candidate show up with bones in his ear lobes.  I am sure he thought he was quite dashing.  He was interviewing for a Sales Associate position in our flooring department and I couldn't help but wonder if he actually thought people would say "I want the guy with the bones in his ears to sell me Martha Stewart carpet."

T-Shirts are another way to automatically fail.  I see a number of candidates coming to interview wearing T-Shirts.  If you're going to an interview you should at least try to show you understand employer dress codes.  How do you do this?  Take a walk through any large retailer, Sears, or Home Depot or K-Mart and count the number of associates wearing T-Shirts.  If associates aren't wearing them to work then don't wear them to an interview.

Failure to impress

Remember, you're not there to hangout with friends, you're trying to sell yourself as a potential employee.  At least wear a polo shirt, something with a collar.

If you're a guy, make sure you shave unless you already have a beard.  Stubble is another way of saying "hey, I've been so busy over the past couple of days I just didn't have time to shave."  This is horse shit.

If you're a female, don't wear a lot of make-up.  Oh, and if you're a chick and you think you can get away with wearing bones in your ears, forget it.  You look just as stupid.

Another thing to keep in mind, if you're a single mother don't bring up the subject.  Being a single mother is not a job qualification yet so many 'single mothers' think by mentioning this fact they're going to get a job.  Nope.  If I have 5 interviews and 4 of them toss in the 'single mother' bit and the fifth tells me her father was a house painter and he used to take her along to work in the summers when she wasn't in school, who's going to get the job in the paint department?

Getting hired is proving you are the best possible candidate for the job and you're the one who has to prove it.