Most job candidates think their interview begins when they are introduced to the interviewer at the start of the question-and-answer session. If you wait until then to display your "best interview behavior," you may lose the job before you answer the first question! This is a rather extreme example, but one of the nation's leading airlines often flies job candidates to their headquarters for job interviews. The airline provides the round-trip airfares. What the lucky candidates don't realize is that their tickets are "tagged" to identify them as job applicants on their way to an interview with the airline. Those candidates are being evaluated from the moment they enter the airport! If candidate Mary Smith is inconsiderate to fellow passengers or rude to a flight attendant, for example, this information is reported to the hiring manager before Mary arrives for her interview. She'll go through the interview, may do a great job answering the questions, and will be totally mystified about why she is NOT selected for the position. Here are more typical situations where your interactions with people prior to your interview may affect the hiring decision: When you talk to someone from HR on the telephone to schedule your interview; When you exchange small talk while riding in the elevator with someone; When you talk to the receptionist while waiting for your interview to begin; When someone walks by while you're waiting and starts a brief conversation with you. Those are just a few examples. Imagine Joe the candidate arriving at an office building for an interview which is being held on the 18th floor. Joe gets into the elevator and says "Good morning" to a woman who is already in it. The woman responds with "Good morning. Are you here to see Mr. Jones?" Joe says "Yes. I'm interviewing with him for an engineering position." Because Joe is nervous, he says a bit too much. "I'm really dreading this. I hear Jones is a grouchy old bastard." The elevator arrives at the 18th floor and they both step out. Mr. Jones is there to greet Joe, and says, "Good morning. I see you've already met my daughter." (There's a TV commercial similar to this.) I'm not trying to make you paranoid, but if you suspect that every person associated with the company is a spy for the hiring manager, do you think you'll be more aware of your behavior while in their presence? You bet! Don't wait until you meet the interviewer to turn on the charm. Your interview may begin--and be over--long before you realize it! |
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