7 signs of a bad interview

Unfortunately, most companies won’t give you feedback about how you did during your interview. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a generic rejection letter or email days, or even months, later. As a result, often you’re left wondering with little or no insight from the company. So, it’s up to you as the interviewee to pay close attention to what you think went right and what went wrong–especially what went wrong. Let’s take a look at seven telltale signs of a bad interview.

1. You get asked the same question by the same person twice. This happened to me early in my career and it let me know he either wasn’t paying attention to what I said or that I didn’t answer the question adequately the first time. If this happens to you, don’t take it personally. Take a second to think about how you responded the first time and incorporate anything you might have left out.
2. The interviewer is paying more attention to his Blackberry than to you. A lot of job seekers have been unnerved by this and, unfortunately, there’s not much you can do besides answering the question with the hopes that he is able to listen and type at the same time.
3. You refer to the wrong company. This can happen to the best of us. If you’re lucky, you realize you made the mistake right away so you can apologize for the slip up before any more damage is done. Of course, this is harder to correct if you referred to the wrong company in an email or cover letter. Some recruiters like to point that out during the interview to see how you’ll react. In that case, the best thing to do is stay cool like the Fonz.
4. While you’re in the lobby, you realize you aren’t dressed appropriately. I worked with one job seeker who did just that. He showed up business casual and the interview was business professional. Before I could turn around, he had already ran out the door and headed to his apartment to change. He came back 15 minutes later, late for his interview and drenched (and I mean drenched) in sweat. That’s one time when he should have taken his chances with being underdressed.
5. The interviewer keeps staring at her watch. This is likely a sign that you’re rambling. Make sure your answers are thorough but concise and that they take no more than one to two minutes.
6. You get so nervous, you break out in hives. Women can usually cover this one up pretty easily by wearing a scarf that accessorizes with their suit. Men, on the other hand, aren’t so lucky. To this day, I’ve yet to see a man be able to pull off wearing a scarf with a suit during a job interview.
7. You blank on the first question. And the first question is “how are you doing today?” No matter how much you prepare, you can always get stumped by a question. Don’t panic. Answer as best you can and move on. Don’t let one bad question ruin the entire interview.

Other signs of a bad interview you’d like to share? Post a comment.