According to research carried out regularly in many countries, across many industries, there are surprisingly constant reasons given for a person making a poor impression at a job interview. The aspects of behaviour that repeatedly pop up are, in no particular order, the following repeat offenders:
- Arrived very late with a weak excuse or even none at all
- An attitude that comes across as being overbearing, conceited or being a 'know-it-all'
- Lacking basic courtesy, tact or maturity
- Not displaying enough interest and enthusiasm toward the role being discussed
- Unable to express thoughts clearly which hints at a lack of preparation
- Seeming to suffer excessive nervousness and having a general lack of confidence in themselves
- Have not established clear and considered career plans
- Unsuitable or poor personal appearance
- Providing excessive excuses, blaming others for mistakes and denigrating past employers
- Overly defensive body language of crossed arms, stiff posture and never smiling
- Being evasive and avoiding answering certain questions which gives the appearance of hiding something
- Failing to look any of the interviewers in the eye, thus coming across as 'shifty'.
- Being more interested in what the employer has to offer them and their career
- Failing to ask questions about the role being offered
- Failing to actually express their interest in the job opportunity and ask for the position
- Being overly interested in the money involved
A single item from the list above would not usually be enough on its own to rule you out of contention for a role unless it is an extreme example. A combination of two or more of these certainly could do that. Weaker interview candidates would tend to have many of the above attributes on display during a job interview. Be sure to look through your own interview style to weed out any of the above fatal characteristics.