When you have a parent who works in a business field or any kind of human resources job there is a lot that you learn at a very young age. One of the first things I remember my mom teaching me about getting a job was to always dress for the job you are wanting when going for an interview or the ways to talk to the person who will be interviewing you. So over the 19 years of my life I have been shown that there are some surefire ways to not get hired for that job you are seeking:
Do not complete the job application completely and correctly. Hiring managers are busy people and need to have complete information about your education and work history to be readily available and easy to read.
Use immediate family and personal friends as references. Of course your spouse/significant other, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, minister, and lifetime friends are going to recommend you. Applications ask for professional references, which means your teachers, principal, previous bosses, even someone you may have babysat for or cut their grass, etc.
Do not provide accurate information about how to contact your references. When a potential employer starts to check your references, they want to be able to reach your references quickly and in a timely manner, by email, telephone or addresses being readily available.
Dress like your going to a ballgame when you go to fill out an application; casual is the way to go. When you go to apply for a job, you never know who you’re going to meet or who is going to see you. First impressions are lasting impressions. Dress for success! Shorts, flip flops, jeans with holes, dirty shoes or not being well groomed are some ways to make a negative lasting impression that you don’t want a potential employer to have.
Keep your cell phone handy, continue to text all your friends and check Facebook frequently while you’re talking to your potential employer. Cell phones are a standard staple attached to most everyone, but your potential employer wants all of your attention. If you get hired, using a cell phone for personal reasons while on duty is not cool, and you probably won’t stay employed if you do.
It’s a small town and everyone knows everyone, so it’s OK to be use the terms “Honey” or ”Baby” to your potential employer – it’s just what we do. Terms of endearment are not appropriate for the workplace, whether speaking to an employer or a customer. Those terms need to be limited to your immediate family and friends and in the right place and time.
These are just five of the many ways that can pretty much ensure you will not get the job you are wanting, especially if it is in a professional setting. These are also things that truly irritate my mom but also myself now that I am older and understand more about the need to have professionalism in everything that you go at. So please save yourself and the person interviewing you some grief and just don’t do the things on this list.
