Dress The Part

If you want to be taken seriously, dress accordingly. For girls, this is probably too easy. For guys, if you can avoid looking like Beetlejuice you're probably ahead of the competition. Learn how to tie a tie (1), iron your clothes (2), get a haircut, and figure out what the hell looks good on you. Do not wear khakis. Nice dress pants, a well-fitted shirt, and a tie are minimum. If your interviewer is wearing a suit, you should be too. If you don't know what to wear, call HR and ask.

Pay attention to the small details boys — have a matching belt, and invest in a nice pair of modern dress shoes. Even when people in the company suggest that their dress codes are casual, take that with a grain of salt. Never, ever, listen to them. Just because employees get away with slouchy attire doesn’t mean it’s not going to be held against you when compared to other candidates.

Find Out Who You Are Interviewing With

Discovering who you are interviewing with can give essential clues to the direction and content of your interview. When you think you’re meeting with a coordinator or HR Rep — and you end up sitting in the same room or video chatting with ownership — it puts you at a huge disadvantage, and will make you look extremely unprepared. It's happened to me. You should use every tool in your internet stalkers field guide to further understand who you’re interviewing with before you step into the room. This gives you an opportunity to cater your answers (and follow up questions) to their interests and topics of relevance.

Understand the Company Culture

Before you go into an interview gung-ho with resume-a-blazing, take a moment to think about what type of answers recruiters are looking for when it comes to their culture. Understanding this information is critical when answering questions like “Why do you want to work here?” Nearly every company provides insight into their culture on their website. By digging a bit deeper, you can use their own words to warm up or cool down to their internal temperature.

Don’t Talk About Things That Are Irrelevant

If your experiences do not relate directly to the skills and responsibilities required for the position — leave it at the door. If it doesn’t get you closer to defining what you can do you for them, don’t waste your precious response time on it. It’s more than certain that they don't give a shit. That doesn’t mean you can’t talk about your personal interests, just remember that you should be tying it back into why you want the job– or how it builds upon your fit for the position. Unless you’re interviewing at the Humane Society, do not talk about your cat.

Say Less

Less is more, but not always. The reason that less — is generally more — is because it’s a lot easier to make less perfect. If you say less, and still say the wrong things more often than not, it probably means you're applying for the wrong job. Your ability to answer a specific question in a direct, concise, and efficient way is a pretty good judge of your ability to comprehend and communicate information in a time sensitive manner. If you keep your answers within 2 - 3 minutes at most, you can avoid boring the interviewer out of giving you a job. By keeping responses short, you can save time to ask questions that can steer toward your more influential subjects.