With more collective years of legal recruiting experience than we wish to count, we thought we had heard everything by now, but apparently not! Occasionally, candidates surprise us with the almost unbelievable things they do in interviews–which certainly impress the interviewers, but in the WRONG WAY.
You might think we are making these things up but, we swear to you, we are not! Here are some of the more memorable “no-no’s” of interviewing:
Do not interrupt an interviewer to tell him/her that he/she has nice teeth, or comment on any other physical characteristic.
Do not put your feet on the interviewer’s desk.
Do not shove things aside so that you may place your papers or elbows on the interviewer’s desk.
Do not touch the interviewer, other than a firm handshake at the beginning and end of the interview.
Do not make or take cell phone calls during an interview.
Do not noticeably yawn or scratch, and try not to burp or fart.
Do not clean your fingernails, pick your cuticles, or play with your hair.
Do not use profanity, tell off-color jokes, or use derogatory/discriminatory language.
Do not flirt with the interviewer, or anyone at the potential employer’s firm, or ask them out on a date.
Do not talk so incessantly that the interviewer cannot get a word in edgewise.
Do not smoke, even if the interviewer does so.
Do not chew gum, loudly or otherwise.
Do not go to an interview drunk or get drunk at an interviewing meal.
Do not use excessive body language, and never use vulgar gestures.
Do not go to an interview if you are coughing, sneezing, or are otherwise unwell.
Do not tell the interviewer that the main reason you are looking to change jobs is to get your Green Card.
Do not bring your dog, unless you are blind.
