For college students or recent grads applying for internships, the sea of interview rules often appears murky. However, whether meeting with a recruiter, hiring manager or human resources professional, and whether meeting face to face, by Skype or phone, there are three things you clearly must NOT do.
1. Wear jeans and a wrinkled shirt. While it may sound absurd, the fact is, many candidates do arrive to the interview dressed inappropriately. It may be an infraction as minor as unkempt shoes or a more serious error such as showing up in ripped jeans and tattered t-shirt.
If a recruiter has beckoned you, you may feel more relaxed than you would if it were the hiring decision maker. You may falsely sense that you and he are on the same level, and that he doesn’t command the same respect as a hiring decision maker. As such, you dress casually, as if you were running an errand to the grocery store for bread and milk. You unknowingly treat this interview as a casual conversation leading to the “real interview.”
Wrong. Recruiters are hired by the corporate decision makers and are granted many hiring and interviewing powers. This means if prompted, they will easily wield the hatchet on your candidacy. If you present yourself sloppily and disrespectfully, then they quickly lose interest in you and will not pass your name along. As such, present your best self whether you are interviewing with a recruiter, HR representative or directly with the hiring decision maker.
Moreover, dress properly, whether interviewing face to face, via Skype or phone. Ensure your hair, nails, shoes and everything in between are coiffed. This includes dressing one notch up from the company’s standard dress code. Even if the corporate culture is highly casual, you should not don jeans and tennis shoes. Instead, press your shirt, your pants and/or skirt and ensure you are wearing shoes that are shiny and clean. While tattoos may be the office norm, the interview isn’t the time to showcase your fresh ink. Facial hair and makeup, haircuts and hairstyles should be conservative, and instead, your words and presentation should take center stage, exhibiting your differentiating value.
To continue reading this post, please click, 3 Things Not to Do When Interviewing for an Internship.
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