The do's and definitely don'ts of interviews

Dear Zazz: I graduated from college last year and got an entry-level job that didn't work out. I've now been going on a lot of jobinterviews, but they never result in a job offer. I wonder if I'mdoing something wrong during interviews - saying the wrong thing,maybe bragging too much. What could I be doing wrong?

GETS THE INTERVIEW,

NOT THE JOB

Dear Gets: A nationwide survey of human resources directors in1997 found that a great many job candidates do the wrong thing.

They talk too much and hardly listen. They haven't done basicresearch about a company. And lots of applicants behave likegoofballs.

The survey, conducted by the New York research firm Schulman,Ronca and Bucuvalas, elicited these actual comments from exasperatedinterviewers: "The reason the candidate was taking so long to respondto a question became apparent when he began to snore." "When I askedthe candidate to give a good example of the organizational skills shewas boasting about, she said she was proud of her ability to pack hersuitcase `real neat' for vacations." "When I gave him my businesscard at the beginning of the interview, he immediately crumpled itand tossed it in the wastebasket." "He'd arranged for a pizza to bedelivered to my office during a lunch-hour interview. I had to askhim not to eat it until later." "Insisted on telling me that hewasn't afraid of hard work. But insisted on adding that he wasafraid of horses." "The candidate never looked directly at me. Hejust stared at the floor." "An otherwise qualified candidate tookherself out of the running when she opened her mouth: She had hertongue pierced." "She showed up at the interview wearing a bathingsuit. Said she didn't think I'd mind." "He put his feet up on mydesk." "The interview went well until he told me that he wore mycompany's clothing whenever he could. I had to tell him that wemanufactured office products, not sportswear." "Without asking if Iminded, he casually lit a cigar and tossed the match onto mycarpet." "During the entire interview for a marketing position, theapplicant wore a baseball cap. Talk about being clueless! A fewdays later, another college grad showed up for a management traineeposition wearing overalls and sandals." "On the phone, I had askedthe candidate to bring his resume and a couple of references. Hearrived with the resume and two people."

So what's important during a job interview? Forty-five percent ofhuman resources execs put "verbal skills and eye contact" at the topof their lists, followed by enthusiasm (15 percent), computer skills(13 percent) and the ability to listen (7 percent).

The study found that the best time to schedule an interview isbefore 10 a.m; the best day is Tuesday. Asked how long it takes themto form a firm impression of a candidate, either positive ornegative, 6 percent of the interviewers said less than a minute; 30percent said 2 to 5 minutes; and 26 percent said 6 to 15 minutes. Inessence, you've got to make a good impression immediately - andordering a pizza isn't the way to do it.

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