Even in a tight labor market, job seekers need to make a good first impression. And you only have a brief window to do so. A 2018 CareerBuilder survey found that approximately half of employers know within the first five minutes of an interview if a candidate is a good or bad fit for a position—and sometimes sooner. Some candidates take themselves out of the running during the very first interview through their questions, comments, or actions, says Brianna Rooney, the “Millionaire Recruiter” and founder of technology recruitment firm Techees.
The CareerBuilder survey respondents reported on some of the most outrageous behavior they had seen. One was asked if she was qualified to do her job. Another candidate requested a cocktail during the interview. Showing up in a Darth Vader costume or slippers, as other recruiters reported seeing, is also usually frowned upon.
While most candidates don’t engage in such outrageous behavior, there are some other questions and actions that can get you cut from consideration before you’ve gotten out of the gate. Here are eight things to avoid doing or saying when you’re going for a first-round interview.
Walk in cold
Stay away from questions or comments that make you seem uninformed, says Amanda Davis, director of business operations for recruitment and consulting firm Vaco. She’s heard of candidates asking, “So what does this company do?” or not know the job for which they were interviewing. “It seems intuitive that you wouldn’t ask those questions, but some people don’t understand,” Davis says.
Ask about drug or background tests
Rooney says that candidates who immediately ask about whether the company requires drug tests or background checks may seem like they have something to hide. Save those inquiries for later in the process, she suggests.
Bad-mouth previous employers
“If you bad-mouth your former boss in front of your prospective new boss, you’ll be on the chopping block,” says career expert and leadership coach Henna Pryor. If your interviewer hears you speaking poorly about a previous employer, it stands to reason you might do the same thing to them, Pryor says. Also poor form: revealing trade secrets or other sensitive information about former employers. If all else fails, you can always focus on something you learned from the job or some other positive aspect.
Eat or drink
Don’t eat or drink during the interview, unless the interviewer invites you to do so, such as when you’re sharing a meal, Davis says. Certainly, don’t eat during a phone or video interview. No one wants to see that.
Inquire about vacation or severance
Your first interview is a time to show the company representative why they should hire you, Rooney says. There will be plenty of time to find out about perks and benefits once you’ve got them interested in you. Asking “what’s in it for me” questions about vacation, work hours, 401(k) matches, and the like in the first round can be off-putting.
Assume the interviewer memorized your résumé
Yes, the recruiter has your résumé but likely didn’t memorize it—so don’t assume they did, says Lisa Barrow, CEO of Kada Recruiting, a digital recruiting firm. “I had a candidate once tell me in our first conversation that ‘Pretty much everything about me is on my résumé.’ She didn’t feel the need to provide any context beyond that,” she says.
There is value in telling your story, adding context, and being able to show that you can communicate what you’ve done and add color as to how it is relevant to the role you’re interviewing for, Barrow says. So, go ahead and answer, even if you feel you’re repeating yourself.
Humblebrag
Over-prepped candidates try to show themselves in the best light in every situation. That can lead them to give “throw-away answers,” which are a big turnoff to recruiters, says career coach Tim Toterhi, author of The HR Guide to Getting and Crushing Your Dream Job. Saying, “Sometimes I work too hard,” is often used in response to the question “What’s your greatest weakness?” Even a senior-level recruiter may be unable to resist an eye roll for that answer, he says. Instead of opting for a self-serving cliché, be thoughtful about what you say.
“It’s really important for a candidate to be specific, and that can entail actually letting the interviewer know what you’re still working on or what you’re not good at,” he says. That will often help you make a stronger connection with the interviewer.
Be arrogant
Ellen Mullarkey, vice president of business development for HR consulting and staffing firm Messina Group, says she’s had many interviews go awry over 30 years in the business, but one stands out: She was interviewing an energetic, “stellar” candidate, she says. “I asked her if she had any other questions, and she said, ‘Yes, I need to know if you want to move forward with hiring me because I have a job offer at a competitor and I need to get back to them this afternoon,’” Mullarkey recalls. “Her presumption was a big turnoff, and even if she was bluffing, she did not get a callback for a second interview.”
Rooney agrees. The engineers she places are in high demand, and sometimes that leads to bad behavior, in the form of being arrogant or unprepared. Be prepared and professional, she advises. Coupled with the right skill set, that’s an effective way to get past the first interview.
But always do this
Once you’ve scored that first interview, one simple question can help you gain an edge, says Sewickley, Pennsylvania, career coach Cynthia Corsetti. “Candidates need to remember that the interview isn’t really about them. I know that sounds counterintuitive,” she says. But the interview is about the hiring manager solving a problem. “The problem can’t be solved with the current makeup of staff, so they need to replace someone or create a new position entirely. This is time-consuming and costly,” she says.
By asking, “What characteristics or skills will make a person successful in this role?” you immediately shift to tone to the company’s needs, she says. The answer may give you a briefing on the skills and accomplishments you need to highlight to show you’re perfect for the job.
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Quick: What’s your go-to form of rest?
I’ll start.
Whenever I’m feeling rundown, I book a Saturday afternoon pedicure and flip through as many trashy magazines as I can find. It works—sometimes. But other times, I leave the salon feeling even worse than when I arrived. I’m jumpy, easily agitated, and more than a little tired. I may have rested my mind (and feet), but I’m still missing something.
Turns out, I’m missing something.
Shutting your brain off can provide some rest in certain situations, but it’s just one of the seven forms of rest that help us to function as humans.
According to physician Saundra Dalton-Smith, M.D., author of Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Renew Your Sanity, humans need physical, mental, social, creative, emotional, spiritual, and sensory rest.
“Most people, when they think about rest, they have a very one-sided approach—they lounge around, don’t do anything, and think that’s what rest is,” Dalton-Smith tells Shine. “We try it, and then when we’re still rest-deprived, we think it doesn’t work.”
You’re likely in need of better rest if you feel the way I have leaving the nail salon. “People say, ‘I’m tired all the time, I’m drained,’” Dalton-Smith explains of her patients. “If they’re waking up (after sleeping) and still exhausted, the issue probably isn’t sleep. It’s likely a rest deficit.”
Getting the proper type of rest requires ID’ing what, exactly, you’re missing.
“For a lot of people, if you have a deficit in an area, you’re likely to experience specific symptoms,” Dalton-Smith says. “If your deficit is in mental rest, you might have trouble with concentration. If you have an emotional deficit, you may find you’re snapping at your spouse and they haven’t done anything. If you have a sensory rest deficit, maybe you used to love Fourth of July fireworks, but now you’re jumping out of your skin, or you’re chronically anxious when getting out of the car.”
Once you’ve figured out the type of rest you need, it’s time to adapt your rest to fit that specific need.
Our national form of rest at the moment is to cancel plans and turn on the TV—a move that Dalton-Smith says can actually result in more exhaustion than before, since most of us need a break from screens.
Instead, she suggests methods tailored to your particular deficit.
Here’s how to get the rest you deserve.
Physical rest
You’ll know if you’re physically exhausted: You’re struggling to keep your eyes open, and even walking to bed feels like moving through quicksand.
The most common form of physical rest is sleep, so consider hitting the hay 30 minutes earlier, or sitting out that HIIT class.
Catching up on physical rest can also mean taking deep breaths during the work day, or squeezing in a restorative yoga class to give your body some time to stretch. More energy (and less yawning) should be a pretty obvious sign that it’s working.
Mental rest
Ever felt like your brain’s turned to mush? Then you know what it’s like to need mental rest.
You may realize you’ve been staring at the same page of a book for 10 minutes, or just sent a barely comprehensible email. Perhaps you notice your thoughts starting to turn negative, judging everything you do (like, perchance, sending an awkward email).
The next time you need a mental break, turn off your screens, and take a few moments to ground yourself. You might try adding a meditation to your day, or simply repeating a calming mantra.
Social rest
Socializing can be exhausting, but balancing draining encounters with restorative ones can help bring balance. “My biggest deficit is social rest,” Dalton-Smith says. “I’m an overachiever, I’m competitive, and I like to be moving toward goals—it becomes easy to be this solo warrior. So for me, (social rest) means finding people who are in my tribe—women I don’t have to compete with.”
For you, social rest might mean catching up with an old friend who knows the way you think and feel without any lengthy explanation. Or, perhaps it’s just taking a night off from socializing and reconnecting with yourself.
Creative rest
Chances are, you flex your creativity more than you think. Ever brainstorm solutions at work, or put together plans for a bachelorette party? You’re tapping into creative thinking—and putting yourself in need of creative rest.
Give yourself a break by going on a walk in nature, or reading an engrossing book. Surrounding yourself with inspiration can help replenish your drained resources—and take the pressure to create off your mind.
Emotional rest
Think of how you feel after a funeral or breakup or rewatching Titanic—hungry, exhausted, and confused all at once.
Get some emotional rest by offloading your feels to a willing listener, then keep talking to prevent future emotional overload.
That could mean scheduling regular therapy sessions, or finding people with whom you can be 100% yourself.
Spiritual rest
Feel afloat, unanchored, alone? You’re likely in need of some spiritual rest. That could mean practicing your religion if that’s your jam, but it could also mean seeking out a sense of purpose, something to ground you and provide a little context.
Volunteering might help you find that spark, as could chatting with a friend about the current state of the world.
Sensory rest
Sensory exhaustion is one of the most prevalent drainers thanks to the prevalence of screens, Dalton-Smith says. In her practice, she’s seen it cause “a lot of eye strain and neck tension, and a lot of divorces and broken relationships,” she says. “It becomes easier to talk to the computer . . . That breaks intimacy, and over time, it breaks relationships.”
Catch up on sensory rest by putting aside the technology and catching up IRL. Check in with yourself before reaching for the remote on nights “off”—is staring at a screen really the rest you need?
You might consider catching up with a friend face-to-face, or a good, old-fashioned book.
This piece originally appeared on Shine and is reprinted with permission. Curious about your self-care style? You can take Shine’s quiz to learn if you’re a Caring Critic, Humble Hero, Infinite Thinker, or Fortune Teller.
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