If all your previous interviews have been runaway successes, you might be overdoing it. Step back, take a deep breath and ask yourself: Do I really want an offer from every interview? Do I really want the pressure of popularity?

If you're ready for the bliss of interview ignorance, here are 10 surefire ways to flub it.

1. Show up early. Or late. 

The Situation: Yes, people do come to interviews an hour early. This annoys the receptionist whose chair you occupy for an hour, the interviewer who has to interrupt her schedule to bring you in early, or both.

The Solution: Sit in your car. Check your e-mail. Take a stroll. Then, walk in the door 10 to 15 minutes early. This give you enough time to greet the receptionist, be escorted or directed to the right office, get a cup of water and sit down and prepare before the interview starts.

2. Don't bring a copy of your resume.

The Situation: You submitted your resume when you applied. They should be prepared.

The Solution: Bring five printed copies. It's possible that the person interviewing you has only seen a machine-readable copy, or didn't get one at all. If it's a panel interview, you'll have enough for everyone.

3. Overshare.

The Situation: When an interviewer says "Tell me about yourself," he doesn't want to know about your badminton trophies.

The Solution: Prepare "a succinct, one-sentence description of who you are, your biggest strength and the major benefit that a company will derive from this strength."

4. Don't ask any questions.

The Situation: If you don't ask any questions, the employer will think you're not interested in the position, and you'll miss your biggest chance to  get information.

The Solution: The interview works both ways: It's also your chance to interview a potential employer. Is this a person and company you'd actually want to work for? What are their processes? Come prepared with questions about job-related factors that are important to you.

This is also your chance to see the work environment. Are the hallways dark and dingy? Is the office unbearably cold?

Note that with many government contractors, your actual workplace might be another office or a secure facility, so you might not be able to see it in advance. Use the information as a general assessment of the company instead.

5. Have no idea why you want the job.

The Situation: Well, you were the first person to call me, so...here I am.

The Solution: If you're not interested, why are you here? Even in a tough economy, if the job doesn't sound at all appealing, reconsider going for the interview.

6. Don't prepare for standard interview questions.

The Situation: When asked questions like "What is your greatest weakness?" and "Tell me about yourself", look blank.

The Solution: The Internet contains good lists of standard interview questions. Look them over and think of answers. In fact, there's a good chance the interviewer looked at the exact same lists.

7. Don't bring work samples.

The Situation: It's a pain to gather and print them for every interview. You can just tell them about the good work you did instead, right?

The Solution: Bring work samples if at all possible. This is a great way to stand out from the pack. If possible, print them out and place them in a neat folder; many people don't use multimedia-equipped rooms for interviews. Three short samples should be plenty.

One CNN article about interview mistakes scoffs at an applicant's tale of all her previous work being "classified." In government contracting, that can actually happen. If you genuinely aren't allowed to share your previous work, let the employer know you're happy to demonstrate your competence in other ways such as a discussion of how you'd carry out relevant tasks.

8. Ask about the important things: compensation and vacation.

The Situation: If you don't pursue the big issues right away, the company might forget to discuss them.

The Solution: The person who interviews you is unlikely to know the answers to HR-type questions, especially in larger companies. The appropriate time to ask is when the company gets back to you after the interview.

It's perfectly acceptable, however, to ask your interviewer to make sure you get a standard benefits information sheet.

9. Don't know your worth.

The Situation: The company will always offer the "going rate," and after all, they'd know better than you would.

The Solution: Do some research on the salary for the type of position you want, particularly if you're changing industries. There's no guarantee a company will offer a "good" salary for the position. If you don't find out what's fair, how will you know?

10. Don't ask for the job.

The Situation: By the time you finish the interview, they know whether they want to hire you. Why ask? They'll let you know.

The Solution: You don't have to ask, "So, are you going to hire me?" Instead, tell them "I'm really happy with what I've heard here and I'm very interested in the position. What's the next step?" This kind of statement tells the employer that you're really interested and lets them tell you about their hiring process without committing to you on the spot.

Insert your error here.

Tell us about your biggest interview mistake -- or someone else's (anonymously, please!) -- in the comments.

---

This article is part of GovWin.com's jobs and staffing resources. Check out the GovWin staffing section, ask the experts a question or follow @HireGovCon on Twitter for the latest govcon job listings.

---

Lindley Ashline is the Web editor at GovWin.com, the network that helps government contractors win new business every day. She can be reached at lindleyashline@deltek.com, or you can follow her on Twitter @lindleyashline.

blog comments powered by Disqus