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As a recruiter, I averaged 40 interviews a month and now work among students on a daily basis, so believe me when I say, there are many things that you can do to ruin your chances of being hired. However, most bad interview techniques that I experience firsthand happen as a result of the interviewee not being prepared or not understanding the formalities involved in such an important meeting. From how you introduce yourself and what you say to how your body language reads and how you dress, you can unknowingly ruin or improve your chances of getting that job.

First of all, keep in mind that you are at the interview stage. The person that is interviewing you has most-likely made some type of impression of you already based on your cover letter, résumé, online application and/or phone interview. I won’t get too deep into phone interviews here, but I will simply say – be professional. Putting the employer on hold while you answer a call from your friend is not a way to impress, nor is the music blaring in the background. But let’s just assume that you’ve handled that well and you got the in-person interview. 

So here they are, the top ways NOT to get hired:

Dress like you don’t want the job. That means don’t shave, don’t brush your hair and don’t iron your clothes. Just because mom isn’t there with the iron in hand, it’s no excuse to go looking like you just rolled out of bed 10 minutes ago.

But even if you think you’re dressed fine, all may not be right. Find out what the employees wear, whether you simply visit the employer’s website or take a stroll past their building. If every man is in a suit, guess what you should go to the interview in? Yes, that’s right, a suit – one that fits you properly. Under your suit, you should be wearing an appropriate shirt. And for women, revealing, low cut or sheer shirts are not appropriate for a professional interview. When in doubt, it is always better to be overdressed than underdressed. Interviewers will make an impression of you within the first two minutes of meeting you – how you look and present yourself, before even uttering a word, make up a large part of that first impression.

Don’t shake hands with the interviewer. It’s a great way to kill an interview before it has even begun. Sometimes just as bad can be to shake hands weakly or with abnormal amounts of sweat – these are sure-fire ways to help make that two-minute impression an uphill battle. Keep a tissue in your purse or suit pocket to wipe your hands if you tend to sweat and practice with friends or family until you “grasp” proper handshaking. Your thumb and index finger should be firmly against theirs. Don’t try to overpower them and impress them with your strength. Well, unless the job is for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, then you might get away with it.

Don’t answer the interviewer’s questions. Now that you know how NOT to dress and how NOT to introduce yourself, and assuming that you already know that showing up late will guarantee you not getting hired, you now have to learn how NOT to speak. If you don’t want to get hired, you should go on about either how you punched out a customer at the bar that you worked at or you can do what many people do – give a vague answer with no substance. Speaking like an unintelligent, sloppy, unorganized individual should do it.

But in the off-chance you do want this interview to go well, realize that the interviewer is looking for specific stories, actions and tasks – something from your previous employment that would have them say, “This person could help my business, too.” I can’t tell you how many times I asked for specific stories and I continued to get vague responses and negative outcomes.

Also, know that the longer the interview is going the better. If you have a five- to 10-minute interview, typically it means that the interviewer wasn’t very impressed. Good interviews are 30 minutes or longer.

Don’t have any questions prepared. Having no questions about the company or the position is a great way to tell the interviewer that not only have you not prepared for the interview, but you either don’t care about the job or you aren’t that interested anyway. Even the typical questions like, “What do you like most about working here?” is better than none.

It would be best to come up with three intelligent questions about the company, the interviewer or the position that would separate you from your competitors. I still remember candidates that asked me questions that made me think or were a bit different, but very intelligent. In my experience, the questions about pay are okay, but don’t make it your first question – some employers would prefer to present this to you in a later interview or in an offer form. Hopefully, you’ll be able to read the interviewer to see if it is appropriate to ask. If in doubt, hold off on the question until they call you back and ask then.

One word: swear. I know what you’re thinking – of course you shouldn’t swear. But the scary thing is I don’t think many people know what swear words are anymore. Saying that you don’t want to do something “half-assed” is swearing. This, by the way, has become a common expression used in interviews. Any word that you would not put on an essay or say to your grandmother should not be uttered in an interview.

Don’t do any research on the company. There is nothing like interviewing someone who has no idea what the company does, what the position entails or even why they want to work for that company. Typically, hiring managers and HR staff will always ask why you want to work for XYZ or to tell them what you know about the company. Anybody can take 10 minutes to look at their website. If you were to take an additional five more minutes to dig a bit deeper, find out something really interesting or a fact that isn’t just on the first page of their website, you’ll stand out against the rest.

Don’t maintain composure. If you slouch, put your feet up on the desk, twist your hair, chew gum or anything else deemed unprofessional, you’ll be sure to end up back on your computer searching job banks. Too often, candidates are unaware of their body language. Remember that 80% of communication is nonverbal. If you are nervous, you’ll tend to do more fiddling, but try to concentrate on maintaining your composure the best you can.

People who do a lot of interviews read body language for clues that you are making up your answer, so make sure that when you are answering a question, you are being truthful – chances are, they can tell. I’ve had candidates get so comfortable in interviews that they put their foot up on the chair or crossed their leg under them (while wearing a skirt, which was even worse.) So keep in mind that feeling comfortable with your interviewer is okay, as long as you maintain an air of professionalism throughout.

The interview is over – you dressed improperly, gave a weak handshake, asked no questions, gave vague answers, swore up a storm, didn’t do your research and used a desk as your footstool. But you’re not sure if you ruined your chances enough – how can you NOT get hired now? If you really want to irritate them, you could call every five minutes until they tell you to stop calling. Yes, this happens. And if you don’t get the job, and you want to make sure you never get hired by that company or anyone they know, send a really nasty letter or leave an obscene voice mail message for the interviewer – that always seems to seal the deal, not just for that job but for any future job that comes available.

So the moral of the story is, if you actually want to get hired, make sure to avoid these common mistakes. Obviously, every interview is going to be different, however many of the basics are the same. Let the interviewer set the tone of the interview and be professional and courteous throughout the interview.

Lastly, keep in mind that a thank-you note or email is a great way to follow up. It will not get you the job if you didn’t do well in the interview, but it may separate you from other candidates if you have done well. You would be surprised at how many people don’t send any type of correspondence. This is an opportunity to stand out against your competitors. Best of luck!

Cara Boese is the Employer Development Coordinator for the Co-op Programs Office at Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario.