5 Things Not To Do In An Interview

You felt like Halle Berry clutching her Oscar after that amazing interview. So, why didn’t you get the gig? Despite a killer résumé and raving references, you could have sabotaged yourself in one of these ways.

You came. You saw. You tweeted.

Sharing deets—good or bad—about your job hunt with, oh, the entire world shows an employer that you don’t know the first thing about discretion. “Hiring managers tell me it’s all but certain that they’ll Google a prospective candidate,” says Paul Powers, PhD, author of Winning Job Interviews. That means your Facebook and Twitter pages are fair game. His advice: Stay mum on the job opportunity until you’re officially hired.

Eau no, you stank up the room!

Hold the spritzes of Viva La Juicy for barhopping this weekend. In addition to stinking up an office, layering on the perfume shows you’re not business-savvy, according to executive coach Marc Dorio, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide To The Perfect Job Interview. “To an employer, going over the 
top with perfume isn’t just unappealing,” he cautions. “It also could be interpreted as your being frivolous.” It also makes you seem clueless about the effects your product choices have on other people. Think first before spritzing, because your potent signature scent could really give them something to sneeze at.

You got way too buddy-buddy.

The person interviewing you seems fun and laidback, so you let down your guard and start using churva! the way you would with any coworker. Don’t. It can be tough to gauge how to react when a potential boss is supercasual, but acting informally during an interview should never go both ways, says Lorne Epstein, CEO of InSide Job, and author of You’re Hired! She wants to know you can handle yourself in any kind of professional situation. No matter how many F bombs she drops, continue to show her the same respect you would any authority figure who can make or break your future.

You referred to your ex-boss as The Terminator.

Your previous employer tore people apart like Tyra on Top Model, but for all you know, you could be talking to her evil twin or beloved former colleague.

Skip the urge to trash-talk, and focus on why you’re perfect for this job. It’ll show that you won’t badmouth your new boss or the company behind her back, and that you can work well with others, says Powers. “The employer is also assessing your character,” he points out.

You forgot to come up for air.

Sure, you want to sell yourself, but resist talking non-stop. “As an interviewer, I may say to myself, ‘Is this person even listening to me?’” says Dorio. “It makes me think that they wouldn’t be a good listener on the job or that they might be too wrapped up in themselves.” Instead of yapping away, Dorio suggests showing that you’re a great communicator. Ask smart, poignant follow-up questions to prove that you’re listening, and keep an ear out for key phrases about what exactly they’re looking for in a candidate. Then, use those same phrases to (briefly) describe yourself.