Interview Etiquette – Part 1

As I stated in my previous post, I’ve interviewed hundreds if not thousands of people, in the United States, the Philippines, and India and while there are cultural nuances that must be taken into account for each region, there is a set of universal etiquette that can be applied to your next face-to-face interview.

Etiquette begins with coming to the interview early. I did not say on time because you don’t want to be on time – you want to be at least 15 minutes early to any interview. Why? To give yourself sometime to relax in the lobby, use the restroom, re-check your attire, and even rehearse some of the questions you know you’re going to be asked. If you come to the interview 1 minute before it starts, you may not have even had time to catch your breath before you’re sitting in the interview room, sweating, and completely unprepared for the questions that are coming your way. In this case, it’s better to be early than to be on time.

Etiquette continues with what you wear – regardless of what position you’re interviewing for, it’s always better to be overdressed than to be underdressed. The call center environment is a little bit different in that it’s a “casual environment” – but casual doesn’t mean baggy jeans, hat, and a loose fitting t-shirt. While the clothing you wear should not be a determining factor on whether or not you get a job, it can be a make or break for your application if HR is on the fence about hiring you. If I had to choose between two candidates who did equally well in the interview and one came in professionally dressed and other in street clothes, the logical decision would be to choose the one who took the interview a little bit more seriously than the other.

The last part of interview etiquette for this part is the meeting and greeting. When the interviewee meets you, make sure to shake their hand, make eye contact and tell them its nice to meet you. I always ask people how are you and while 99% of people say I’m fine or I’m good, what really impresses me is when people ask me how I am. Most people never ever say that and every time some does ask me how I am, I remember and it already shows something about their character and personality even before I’ve had a chance to ask them the first interview question. Your first impression starts with that handshake and that hello so make it count.

This post will be continued with interview etiquette once you’ve sat down in the interview room.