With effortless style and humanitarian grace, who wouldn’t want to see her waiting for an interview?

Interview Etiquette

Growing up, my mom gave me a book on proper etiquette. My mom may have only been 4 foot 11, but she was a drill instructor when it came to manners. She taught me how to set the table for a multiple-course meal. It was insisted I call elders by their last names and check my thank you letters. She held a fanatical belief that manners and consideration will never go out of style. Manners are appreciated by all demographics.

This was reinforced when I recently interviewed a senior developer for a VP of Engineering position. It was obvious this guy spent the majority of his life outside of the United States, but he was one of the most gracious people I have ever met.  He smiled the entire day and always insisted on holding the door for all of the interviewers. The process was made easy for us. He could walk with kings and keep in touch with the townsfolk   Interview Etiquette at its finest. Yes, he was hired, and it was a pleasure working with him.    

Young people are stereotyped

For young interviewers right out of school, I think this advice is more pertinent than ever. If there is one stereotype that young people need to be conscious of, it is a lack of manners and consideration. Young people usually do not have much experience, and this lack of experience usually brings the hiring decision down to three very basic factors. 

1. Grades in school. 
2. A few part-time jobs and let’s be realistic, I am not going to ask you to tell me about the French Fry machine at McDonald’s or how you upsold a pair of anklets with the latest kicks from Footlocker.
3. How you present yourself in the interview. 

How I vote

My vote will be to hire a civilized and generous person who demonstrates interview etiquette with no experience. I don’t want to hire a straight-A student that acts like a barbarian. Make no mistake, this is not about “class”.  I don’t care to use this word because there are plenty of wealthy people who are jerks and plenty of folks with very little who are generous. This is about “style”. This is about how you carry yourself.      

So here is the HRNasty Interview Etiquette for all demographics. If you don’t have an interview, you can use this same material on your next first date.  This would be considered common courtesy, a show of maturity, and will only gain you points with your presentation layer.   Good manners never go out of style. The other thing that manners show us is an indication of your level of discipline. You may have manners during the first hour of the interview, but if you are slacking by hour 3, I know it is an act.

A lack of manners in an interview gives me a signal. The flag indicates that there will be a lack of manners in the workplace and with our customers.  When Mom told you to send thank you letters and hold doors open, she wasn’t just worried about embarrassing the family name. She was trying to instill a discipline that would carry you forward in later life. Next time you see Mom, tell her “thanks.”     

Interview Etiquette do’s

Before the interview

1. Do change your voicemail to include your name and a professional message. You want to give confidence that you can leave a voicemail message suitable for the work environment.
2. Check in the day before your interview with a confirmation email and reinforce that you are excited about learning more about the company and the position.    
3. Figure out where the interview is the day before and go visit the company.  There is nothing worse than coming to an interview late.  It puts everyone’s schedule behind and only takes away time that you will have to sell yourself. 
4. If you are going to be late, call ahead as SOON as you know you are going to be late. Calling 2 minutes before your interview to say you will be 10 minutes late is rude. You knew 10 minutes ago you were going to be late.
5. Do turn off your cell phone. A call during the interview is a distraction.  Even if you don’t answer the call and let it go to voicemail a ringing cell phone is a distraction and will hurt your “flow”.   

During the interview

1. Avoid sunglasses on your head or resting on the back of your neck. This isn’t a party or a beach. 
2. When interviewing in person, do stand up anytime anyone approaches you. Take the initiative and introduce yourself. Smile and look them in the eye. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” will never be out of place.
3. Do sit up straight and lean forward when being interviewed. This body language shows that you are interested in the position and interested in the person interviewing you.
4. Do dress appropriately. It is always better to be overdressed rather than be underdressed.  Pressed and clean collared shirts always wear well.  Even if the dress code is jeans and a t-shirt, show respect.  Show you can be put in front of a customer and “represent.”    
5. Smile during the interview and look your interviewer in the eye. Sincere attention is the best form of flattery.
6. If you are invited to coffee or lunch during your interview, order a modest meal and avoid alcohol. It doesn’t matter if everyone else is ordering drinks. Explaining that you want to respect the interview process and the interviewer’s time will never hurt your chances. 
7. Bring a pad of paper and pen to the interview. Taking notes is a sign of interest, and shows you will probably take notes during the training period.
8. Have questions for every person you talk with. Even if your questions were answered previously, asking the same questions of others is better than no questions.  Not asking questions is a sign that you are uninterested in learning more. 

After the interview

1. Send a thank you letter to everyone you talked with. Individual and personalized messages are always better than cc’ing several people on an email with 3 short sentences.

Have any more items for Interview Etiquette? Please share below. 

See you at the after party,

HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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