Ten Tips for a Successful Job Interview

I’ve been interviewing a lot of people for open positions at my company, Marketwire, and I’m surprised at the number of mistakes these folks have made during the interview process. I’ll chalk many of these missteps up to the fact the majority of interview candidates are just so young and inexperienced. But seriously, it’s shocking some of the things these people do (and don’t do) during our hour or so together.

In hopes of improving your chances for a quality interview and possibly landing a position within our organization, I recommend the following ten tips in meeting with myself or my colleagues:

1. Under no circumstances should your résumé list that you were captain of your intramural volleyball team in college… I would save this bit of info for late night discussions in bars and/or when you're divvying up teams for a beach volleyball game.

2. When I ask you about yourself, I’m hoping you quickly describe where you’re from, your educational background, your professional interests, and how you ended up in San Francisco. Please omit your favorite TV show, preferred type of ice cream, and your astrological sign.

3. Guys – learn how to tie your tie. For some of you, it’s like you attempted to put your tie on while riding a roller coaster backwards in the dark… It’s “knot” that difficult!

4. Keep your answers short and to the point. Oh – and be honest… When I ask you what your ideal position is in life, do not respond, “I've always wanted to be a Customer Relationship Manager at Marketwire – that would be swell.” If your ultimate ambition in life really is to be a Customer Relationship Manager at Marketwire, I hope your old guidance counselor has since found new work.

5. Ladies – no mini-skirts, jean jackets or flip-flops during our interview. In fact, these items should never be worn… unless your name is Gidget.

6. Turn off the cell phones. If 20 minutes into our discussion, your phone starts blasting “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, you will quickly be pouring out of our office.

7. Ask good questions! This is crucial, since major elements of our jobs are the ability to fact-find and probe. However, none of those questions should be:

-When do I start?
-How long do you get for lunch?
-Can I bring my six cats into the office?

8. Make sure there are zero typos on your résumé. I’m not sure how it’s even possible to trick your computer, Microsoft Word or even the Internet into allowing a misspelled word to be digitally transferred, but somehow it still happens. And for those candidates who list their science background, the correct spelling is O-R-G-A-N-I-S-M, with an N and an I!

9. Do not, I repeat, do not send me a “friend request” on Facebook 15 minutes after our interview. 

10. And do not, I repeat, do not give me a hug after our interview (though I can understand why it’s tempting… I’m quite warm and fuzzy).