Job Interview Manners And Etiquette

It’s easy to make a silly mistake with job interview manners. It could offend the interviewer and count against you. Here are the Dos and Don'ts of job interview manners, to help you get it right.

Turn up early

Not more than 15 minutes (or you'll be either inconveniencing someone or sitting, waiting in reception for a long time). Sit in the car park, if you need to! Not less than 5 minutes, or you may appear to be late. Being late is bad manners and can make an employer think you’d be late on all deadlines.

Have a firm, but not vice-like handshake

The Interview's Over - What Next?

So the interview's over.

You breathe a sigh of relief and get on with everyday life, hoping you'll get the "you're hired" letter in the post. Bad idea !!!!

If you want to practically double your chances of getting to the next round or being offered the job, you need to follow up.

Think about it. If you go to a great party or someone gives you a present, you call or write to them to say thank you. It's good manners. Think about how that makes the other person feel - appreciated and they know you care.

Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?

Want to know the right answer? 

This is perhaps one of the most dreaded job interview questions - and the most dangerous. Yet it's common. Most interviewers will ask it at some stage.

And it's a question that works on many levels.

Don't be fooled into thinking they actually want to know the answer.

Ok, of course they do, but the interviewer will be looking for so much more.

Group Exercises and Assessment Center

Group exercises: These usually involve a group of candidates applying for the same job. You're normally asked to complete a task together, with too little time.

It's designed to test how you perform under stress. Do you support the group to achieve its objective? Or do you turn into a lone crusader?

How to do well in a group exercise:

Read the brief carefully

Psychometric Tests

The term "psychometric tests" covers numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, spatial reasoning and psychological personality profiling tests. "Psychometric" means "the process of measuring mental capacities and processes" (Oxford English Dictionary). They are also called aptitude tests. 

They're used by employers to provide an objective measure of your personal reasoning ability or an indication of your personality. You usually visit the employer to take the aptitude test under controlled conditions. However, it's becoming more common to sit them online before being offered an interview - especially with graduate recruitment.

Job Interview Tests

Knowing what to expect is the key to success.

Job interview tests are commonly being used in addition to traditional interviews. Employers are often nervous about employing someone on the basis of interview performance alone, so you can expect to undergo or more job interview tests. Some people get nervous about these, but there's no need. As long as you know what to expect, you're half way there.

Types of Interview

Employers are constantly developing new types of job interview. Knowing about the main types of job interview can give you an advantage over other candidates. You can't predict the exact interview format you'll encounter, but if you understand the most common types of job interview, you're on the road to success.

Structured Competency-Based Interview Behavioral / Situational Job Interview Telephone Interview Panel Job Interview Technical Job Interview