"I recently interviewed someone whose cell phone rang during our interview. She hit the 'ignore' button, but the person kept calling back -- and she didn't put the ringer on mute. So our interview was interrupted four or five times by phone calls, and it just said to me, this isn't a person who has good common sense," says a hiring manager.
Tip: Telling you to turn off your cell phone can feel like we're asking you to cut off your arm, but trust us, the caller on the other end will survive and time will go on. Better to turn it off than deal with your phone buzzing or ringing in your purse mid-interview. The hiring manager explains, "If your cell phone rings during the interview, it shows me you aren't a person with good attention to detail."
Unemployment can be emotionally (not to mention financially) draining. We've all been there at one time or another, and with the national unemployment rate at a whopping 8.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, applying for a job today is more competitive than ever. So, when you do finally secure an interview, it's important to present yourself in a way that sends the right message. First impressions, as we've all heard a million times, are key.
In order to figure out what prevents employers from hiring fully qualified applicants, we talked to hiring managers, human resource specialists and recruiters. Their reasons were kinda surprising. From hangnails left behind on a conference room table to applicants with sweat dripping from their brows -- beauty mishaps were at the top of the list of reasons to show an applicant to the door.
So, while we're hopefully near the end of this recession, don't (for lack of a better clich�) shoot yourself in the foot at your next interview by ignoring these beauty tips.
