7 Job Interview Etiquette That Will Make You Stand Out

The campaign season and elections are over and it’s now time to get back to business. Its time now to go back to the drawing board and correct job search mistakes you have made in the past. So far, you have not been successful in landing a job, you have managed to get job interviews but have never been given an offer.

Whatever mistakes you made in the past may lie in your interviewing skills. What attitude do you take to a job interview? How do you behave in that interviewing room? Good interview skills will land you the job as long as you are qualified.

Ms. Lucy Mutungi, is an Interview Coach at Corporate Staffing Services who works with candidates to prepare them for interviews. I sat down with her to get her insight on how best candidates like you can stand out in any job interview.

Here are job interview etiquette that she suggests will make you stand out from the pack and start getting offers.

Job Interview Behaviors That Will Make You Stand Out

1. Arrive on Time

Punctuality is the greatest quality that employers appreciate in their employees. Arriving on time at an interview rather than waltzing in ten or twenty minutes later, all sweaty and reeking of confusion will give you more chances of getting that job.

Arriving on time allows you time to compose your thoughts, prepare your responses and is also a way of showing that you respect the interviewer.

It is common knowledge that, arriving late to an interview will work against you most of the time. Therefore, if you suspect that you won’t arrive on time, common sense dictates that you call ahead of time and explain your situation.

They will take you more seriously if you are that candidate who bothered to call and say they are running late rather than just walking in apologizing at that time.

2. Turn your cell phone off or put it into silent mode

“There is nothing as rude as a candidate walking into an interview room and their phone keeps buzzing in the middle of the session,” says Ms. Mutungi.

“It doesn’t matter how much qualified you are for the job, what the interview will take from such an experience is that you are rude and you are not taking them serious.”

The moment you arrive at the interview, nothing should be more important than the interview itself. I am pretty sure that you won’t die just by turning off you phone for about 30 minutes.

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3. Maintaining eye contact with the interviewer

The best communicators maintain eye contact with the person they are speaking to. It is highly important that you avoid shifting your gaze away from the interview.

It goes to show that you are attentive and paying attention to what you are saying. The opposite shows a lack of interest and not caring about what the interviewer is talking about.

4. Ensuring that you are the first to greet the interviewer

Have you ever walked into an interview room, met the eyes of the interviewer, you smiled they did the same them nana awkward silence followed and you start panicking on what to do next.

You main goal in an interview is to impress that interviewer and that should start the moment you walk into that room. Offer the greetings instead of waiting for them to greet first. Who knows? They might just be testing you to see how you will handle the situation.

5. Allow the interviewer to speak first before you respond

“I don’t know if its overconfidence or lack of it, but many candidates end up messing in this,” says Ms. Mutungi.

The one rule about conversations is to allow the other person to speak first before airing your opinion or responding.

The same goes with job interviewers. Keeping on interrupting the interviewer, will portray you in bad light and you are not likely to be given an offer.

6. Be prepared, carry the right documents and samples of your work if need be

Another job interview etiquette is to always be prepared as a candidate. Chances are the recruiter will call you days prior to the interview and will suggest what you are to bring with you and do there is no excuse for you to walk in unprepared.

You don’t want to walk into an interview room and when asked to provide some documents you go blank. The night before your interview, put together what you are to take with you, your academic certificates, letters of recommendation or samples of your work.

7. Ask Questions

Job interview courtesy dictates that you should not get out of an interview room without asking a question. An interview generally, is supposed to be a conversation and not merely a question and answer kind of thing.

When the interviewer asks if you have any questions for them, don’t tell them that you don’t. This is where interview preparation comes in. If you prepare and understand the job and company, you will always have question related to the job. Have at least two questions.

Passing a job interview, is dependent on so many factors and one of them is your job interview etiquette. Don’t be caught off guard, prepare and be at your best behavior for those 30 minutes.

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