Watch more How to Have Good Manners videos: http://www.howcast.com/videos/513562-How-to-Treat-People-with-Disabilities-Good-Manners
Learn how to follow proper job interview etiquette from manners expert Faye de Muyshondt in this Howcast video.
Hi, I'm Fay [Demoychant] from Social Skills here to share with you interview etiquette. A few things to keep in mind before you go to an interview. We all get nervous before interviews, so you're not the only one feeling nervous. It's a really normal feeling, but what you can do are a few things just to help make you feel a little bit more comfortable before the big day.
Number one is to prepare. Prepare in advance. Do research. No matter what company you're going to, there's research you can do, thankfully, as a result of the internet. So do your research, find out any information that you can on this organization. Knowledge is empowerment, so be sure to know exactly what this company is all about. Follow them on social media, go onto their Twitter feeds, check them out on Facebook. Get the inside information on the business before you go in for the interview. If they have a newsletter, if they have anything on their website, press releases that can help you familiarize yourself with the business, do it. It's just going to help you feel that much more comfortable during the interview.
In advance of your interview, you're going to want to have your attire picked out. Do a little bit further research on the organization. If the organization is in the financial industry, you're going to want to be a little bit more buttoned up than if you're going to an interview at a music organization. Regardless, make sure that you're one step more formal than anyone else at the company might be. If you know that your interview is a formal interview, you're going to want to make sure that you are dressed as formally as you possibly can be dressed. Ladies, that means a suit. Gentlemen, that means a suit as well. You don't want to be in any bold colors. You don't want to be in anything that's going to attract attention to yourself, so heavy fragrances are out of the question, a lot of jewelry is out of the question, and make sure that you're dressed in a very respectful way of the organization. If anything feels uncomfortable on you before the interview, it's going to look uncomfortable. If something is too tight or, ladies, if it's too short, don't bother wearing it. Wear something that you're really comfortable in. You don't want to have that distracting you during the interview.
Make sure that you also do your research and do your homework in terms of where this organization is located. You might want to make a trip to the business or to the workplace in advance of your interview, just to be sure you know where you're going. You should plan to arrive about ten minutes in advance of your interview. You don't want to be too early for an interview, and you surely don't want to be late for an interview.
When you get to the interview, be sure that you shake hands with the person that is interviewing you. You want to have a great, firm handshake. You want to make sure that your handshake touches web to web, so your web of your hand should be touching the other person's web, and have eye contact the entire time. You should also know who you are going to meet in advance of the interview, so get the name of the person if you can. Do a little research on the person and make sure that you're comfortable pronouncing his or her name. Also, if you want to show confidence, initiate the handshake, so be the first to stick your hand out when you introduce yourself. Say your first and your last name as you make the introduction. Have a few questions ready to ask, just to break the ice and make the interview a little bit more comfortable.
Most likely, during your interview you're going to have a few moments to ask questions, so have your questions ready. Have your questions in advance, prepared, and those questions are really easy to put together as you're doing research on the company or the organization. But don't sit and have nothing to ask during the interview. It just shows your engagement in the interview and it also shows that you've done your homework.
At the end of the interview, you're going to want to get up and, again, initiate the handshake with the person and offer your thanks for the interview and your thanks for their time. And you absolutely should send a thank-you note after an interview. I don't think that there's anything more impressive than receiving a thank-you note a few hours after an interview, or immediately after the interview, and why not? Why not stand out? You can send the thank-you note via e-mail or, if you want to take it one step further, send it via mail. But j
