A Tyba Guide to Things You Should or Shouldn’t Do in a Job Interview

Remember those weird feelings you got in high school? The stomach-turning, red-flushes and mood swings you endured when your crush sat next to you in Bio, or worst yet, winked at you in Math class. It turns out that they don’t entirely disappear in adulthood. In fact, they can become stronger later on in life, especially during that dreaded face-off we all find ourselves in at some point — The Interview.

Let the groans ensue.

The good news is that scaling the heights and depths of Europe’s startup scene, has exposed us to a whole flock of pretty amazing recruiters. And since we make it our business to get you a job that excites, we’re going to share some insights on what makes for a good interview and what will send you packing.

Grab a pen, find a piece of paper and take note of The Interview Do’s and Dont’s.

The ‘early bird’ dilemma.

You’re a person of good intentions. You woke up earlier than usual, had your morning coffee, glanced over your notes and left an hour (or two) to spare, having carefully calculated your commute and left yourself a margin in case the traffic gets crazy. You get to the interview way in advance, proud of your timeliness and sure that the early bird gets the juiciest of worms.

TRUTH ALERT: as punctual and prepared as you may be, the truth is that the early bird doesn’t always get the worm. In fact, don’t be surprised if this ‘worm’ decides to anchor its own battle, and kick you right in the ass instead.

Unless you are interviewing for a colossal company whose lobby is bigger than your house, and whose secretary doesn’t mind having you chill in the ‘waiting room’ until the clock strikes interview, it’s likely that you’ll be landing directly in the middle of your company’s workspace alone, awkward and probably annoying. These are triple As you definitely want to avoid.

It goes without saying that this is a bad situation for both parties to be in. You’ll be left feeling awkward and embarassed, while the hiring manager will now a) feel guilty for ditching you while they finish attending to some important matters or b) have to put aside those urgent matters to attend to you. Either way, this is not the first interaction or impression you want to make on your future boss — good as your intentions may be.

Don’t get us wrong, no one wants to be that person who shows up late for the interview because “the alarm didn’t go off”, or because they got “lost on the way over”. But showing up insanely early isn’t so cool either.

Planning Ahead.

Do plan ahead; take a practice run to the location of your interview beforehand and calculate the rough amount of time it takes for you to get there by bus, metro, car, walking or donkey (whatever does the trick). In fact, do plan to get to the interview location a good 30 minutes before schedule.

But instead of parking yourslef inside the office, use that extra time to visit the local stores (grab a Starbucks across the street or stay in your car) and go over some possible Q and A’s. And when your clock strikes 5–10 minutes before action time, stride into the building confident and collected.

Those extra minutes might even help you relax, take your mind off things and, hey, you’ll be killing two birds with one stone!

The ‘R2-D2 Syndrome’.

You’re no nine-year-old competing in a spelling bee, sweating over that one word you forgot to rehearse last night. And if you are, then try not to show it.

We all know that showing up to the interview unprepared is out of the question, but there is also such a thing as being over-prepared, and it’s not a good look to have.

Save any canned responses for an e-mail, and keep your answers smart, fresh and personal. You don’t want to exhaust your future employer with a game of ping-pong questionnaire. And while you still need to keep the momentum going, try to steer away from volleying back overly-rehearsed answers, and channeling an inner R2-D2.

You’ve probably spent a good amount of time frying your brain with a gazillion variations to the same interview questions. Maybe you’ve even put the mirror hanging in your room to good use, or have already cornered your family, friends and cats, begging them to grill you with common interview questions.

The problem? More often than not, extensive rehearsal risks leading to methodical answers. You don’t want to be caught blurting out crisp responses that make you sound automatic, or worse, uninterested. And since we’re keeping it real, interviewers don’t tend to go for the person that had all the right answers, but sailed through the interview on autopilot. They’ll lean more towards a ‘flesh-and-blood’ kind of individual, who’s capable of holding a genuine, normal and personal conversation. Otherwise, they might as well hire a robot…

It’s completely fine — even recommended — to apply the age-old ‘trick’ of googling “common interview questions” and preparing your answers. But, if you do so, think of how these questions apply to your own personal life and experiences.

Marinate the interview with bits and pieces of your personality, making sure that your tastiest traits truly shine through. What’s your biggest strength or weakness? Easy, just think of the instances where your character or skills have been put to the test and you’ve come up smelling of roses. Take it up a notch and explain how you’ve turned the situation around, and made the most of a difficult task.

Don’t write down your whole answers. Instead, try to jot down some key words or phrases that underline the main gist of your message. This way you’ll ensure that you’ve covered all the bases, and have collected all your thoughts without sounding like a broken record or a ‘hot mess’.

Getting your story straight.

When times get tough, you’ve gotta get tougher! If you feel that your nerves are getting the best of you, remember: you know yourself better than anybody else. And, at the end of the day, the interview is supposed to be about you.

Knowing your personal story inside out will give you the upper hand, allowing you to swiftly apply real-life examples to any interview questions thrown at you. So, rather than going crazy preparing precise answers to possible questions, become your own personal guru and take a deep look at your past career choices and their consequences.

Think about what you did and why you did it. Dig deeper and ponder on what you struggled with, what you’ve overcome and what you’ve learnt. Once you’ve figured out your story, you’ll find it much easier to draw upon your past experiences and really express your personal worth.

Remember: chivalry’s not dead.

Sometimes nailing an interview goes beyond the actual in-room experience. We can all relate to the feeling of relief that sinks in once we leave the building after a particularly gruelling session. It’s a feeling that infiltrates our nerves and sparks a plethora of mixed emotions…

But it’s important to follow-up — maybe even send a thank you note if the mood takes you.

Just like you would after a promising date, make sure to get the contact info of your interviewer (ask for a business card, or ask your ‘contact-person’ to hook you up with your interviewer’s e-mail and/or phone number) and send them a message of genuine gratitude sooner rather than later. This will not only make you look good and impress the hiring manager, but it will also help your case when it comes to standing out from other candidates.

Last words of wisdom: remember to try to come across as positive, interested and engaged in the conversation and job position. Oh, and stay clear from bitching about your previous employers or team members. Unless you’re planning on applying to TMZ (and maybe not even then), remember that no one likes a gossip.

Up for a laugh? Check out how some candidates went light years past the traditional interview faux pas and displayed some pretty unorthodox behaviors. As long as you stay clear from this path, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

Words: Theodora Filip

Originally published at blog.tyba.com on March 2, 2015.