35 Things To Avoid At Your Job Interview

As with everything in life, it can be very helpful to know NOT what to do just as much as what to do! If you’re new to job hunting, you've probably been reading about how to act during a job interview. You should also be studying how not to act.

If there’s a common complaint among many hiring agents and human resources professionals, it’s how many of today’s generation of job hunters show up for job interviews unprepared or come with a sense of entitlement. While confidence is never a bad thing, it’s not always a good idea to show up to a job interview with the wrong attitude.

Here are 35 Things To Avoid At Your Job Interview

1. Show up unprepared: Most candidates have several days to prepare for a job interview. This is plenty of time to freshen up your resume and references, and learn everything you can about the company and job for which you’re applying. Knowing the business and its major players is great way to give you the edge over other candidates.

2. Pay little attention to your appearance: Think your appearance doesn’t count? Think again! The trend may be for business casual, but it’s still proper business etiquette to wear a suit. When it comes to the job interview, it’s all about the first impression. The company wants to hire the best person to represent the business, mohawked and hardwared individuals usually don’t fit the description.

3. Have nothing to say: It’s frustrating to an interviewer to receive one syllable answers. Go into detail. Sell yourself.

4. Say too much: Give your interviewer time to talk. By monopolizing the conversation and not letting others get a word in edgewise, you’re showing yourself to be a poor listener and disrespectful to higher ups.

5. Give a sob story: No one cares how deep in debt you are. If you give your interviewers the impression you’re irresponsible or your problems are a distraction, you won’t get the job.

6. Tell jokes: A job interview isn’t the time or place to be a comedian. You need to show you’re serious about the job.

7. Lie: Don’t lie about education, qualifications, past employment or a prison record. These are all things that businesses look into nowadays. Lying during a job interview can also be grounds for dismissal later on.

8. Trash a former employer: This is one of the biggest mistakes made during interviews. When asked why they’re seeking new employment many candidates will complain about a past employer. Why would anyone want to hire a malcontent?

9. Blame problems on co-workers: If there was an incident at a past place of employment, own up to it as honestly as possible. Casting the blame on other people only makes you look worse.

10. Act too familiar with your interviewers: Don’t call your interviewers Bob and Suzy (even if it is their names). Unless invited to do otherwise, address them as Mr. Ms, Dr or another respectful title.

11. Give too many personal details: Do you think an employer would want to hire you if he finds out you like to go out and party every night or you’re getting over a drug problem? Your personal life has nothing to do with your job. Don’t divulge unnecessary details.

12. Fidget, bite your nails, drum your fingers or show nervousness: Employers are looking for confidence, especially if you’re expected to meet with clients or give presentations.

13. Chew gum: No one wants to listen to the equivalent of a cow chewing its cud.

14. Bring your breakfast, lunch or dinner: Not only is it impolite to bring a meal to the job interview, it’s the best way not to get the job. Your interviewer doesn’t want to watch you eat, nor does she want to wait until you’re finished chewing to learn the answer to her questions.

15. Be disrespectful: Even if you don’t agree, it’s best to hold your tongue. No business wants to hire someone who is disrespectful to others.

16. Turn in a messy application: If you’re asked to fill out an application, do so in a neat, tidy manner, filling in as many of the sections as possible.

17. Bring only one copy of your resume: You may have several people interviewing you. Bring several copies of resumes and other pertinent information. It’ll show you’re someone who comes prepared.

18. Sit before you’re offered a chair: Wait to be invited before sitting. You may not even be staying in that room.

19. Smoke or drink alcohol: If you’re at a lunch interview, refrain from smoking and drinking, even if invited to do so. The interviewer may be testing you. Some businesses frown upon smokers because they spend a lot of time outside and no one wants to hire someone who indulges in cocktails during his or her lunch hour.

20. Talk on your cell phone or read text messages: To not turn your cell phone or pager off for an interview is just plain rude. Your interviewer should have your complete attention.

21. Show up late: Being tardy for a job interview tells your potential bosses, you really don’t care enough to make an effort. If you have an emergency such as being caught behind a traffic accident or a subway stalling, call ahead.

22. Discuss money, time off or benefits unless an offer has been made: Though this is probably what you’re thinking about the most, you want to the potential employer to think it’s the least of your concerns. The job should be on your mind first and foremost, not the pay or vacation time.

23. Ask no questions: Your potential employer wants to know you’re interested in the job. If you don’t ask any questions, you give the impression you don’t care.

24. Bring your cute little dog on the interview: Pets don’t belong at interviews. They’re distracting and present the potential for disaster.

25. Brush hair, file nails, put on lipstick: Primp before the interview, not during.

26. Cut short the interview for another appointment: Your potential employer doesn’t expect to be your only job interview but he does expect you to block out enough time to give a complete interview. Leaving to go to another appointment is rude and tells the employer he’s not a priority.

27. Hit on the receptionist or pass your phone number to a cute guy: If you give the impression you’re more interested in dating than working you won’t get the gig.

28. Get too comfortable: Don’t put your feet up, put your arms behind your head, cross your legs or stretch them out in the aisle. A job interview isn’t the place to let your hair down.

29. Give vague answers: Don’t tap dance around issues. Answer questions to the best of your ability. If you can’t answer a straight forward question, this employer might wonder what you have to hide.

30. Use foul language: It should go without saying that foul language isn’t appropriate at an interview let alone a place of business.

31. Act as if they need you more than you need them: You’re not the only candidate. If you act smug or make the hiring agent feel inferior you won’t get the job.

32. Excuse yourself often to use the bathroom or phone: If you can’t attend the interview uninterrupted how will you do the job?

33. Forget to shake hands: A potential employer is looking for a good, firm handshake. Don’t overlook this important detail as it says a lot about your character.

34. Fail to follow up: Always follow up on the interview within a few days. It will show the employer you want the job, and also that you practice good business sense.

35. Fail to send a thank you note: It’s polite and makes a good impression.

17 Fitness Truths To Get You In Great Shape

“Nothing’s better than the wind to your back, the sun in front of you, and your friends beside you.” - Aaron Douglas Trimble

While getting in shape has been a start-and-stop-and-start-again affair for me over the last couple years, over the long run, I’ve become fitter than ever.

I’ve dropped more than 30 pounds altogether (or about 2 stone 6, for the British-inclined among you), I run regularly, I’ve become more consistent with strength training, and I’ve dropped several sizes in clothes.

I’m not saying all that to brag. If you saw the details of how I got here, it’s nothing to be proud of — I ran a marathon at the end of 2006 and then did a short triathlon but then stopped exercising altogether for awhile. I became a vegetarian and was eating very healthily (is that a word?) … but then I slowly started eating more junk food and gaining weight.

Recently, I dropped sweets from my diet (cakes, pies, donuts, candy, CHOCOLATE!, sodas, etc.), and surprisingly I don’t really miss them. I’ve been exercising with my sister and my wife on alternate days and it’s been great. I still have more pounds to drop, but I can’t complain. I’m healthy.

The ups-and-downs of my fitness efforts have highlighted some important points for me. Key among those points: don’t quit. If you mess up, and stop for awhile, that doesn’t mean you should quit altogether. Just keep going. You’ll get there eventually.

And during this journey, which hasn’t stopped and probably won’t ever stop, and I’ve learned a lot over these last couple of years, about what works and what doesn’t.

What follows are some of the more important truths I’ve learned, in the trenches, that I’d like to share with you. Take from them what you will — everyone will find different things that work for them, but I think just about all of them are important to share.

“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.” - Buddha

1. Small steps. That you get fitter in stages, as you exercise more, is pretty obvious I think. You might start out just walking, but as you get fitter, you might add some slow jogging to your routine. And then eventually you’re running three miles, several stages later. However, this really applies to everything, including diet, and many people don’t realize that. You shouldn’t try to change your entire diet overnight — do it in stages. Small steps, one thing at a time, and you’ll get there. Just start eating more fruits at first, for example. Then cut out sodas. Then eat more veggies for dinner. Then change your white bread for whole wheat bread. Then cut out candy at work. And so on. The thing is, you get used to each thing after awhile, and so the changes don’t seem drastic. A year later, and you’re eating extremely healthily (that word again), and you can’t imagine going back to your old diet. Small steps — this is extremely key, to both diet and exercise.
2. Find short-term rewards. Most people quit their diet or exercise program because they’re looking for immediate results. And they’re discouraged when they don’t get them. But you won’t get immediate results. One fitness trainer said something like, “After a month, you’ll start feeling some results. After two months, you’ll start noticing results. After three months, others will start noticing.” And that’s pretty true — it takes months before you start to see the results you want … but in the meantime, you have to look for other things to keep you going. Those shorter-term rewards could be simple things like the great feeling you get after a workout — that helps me stay motivated. Or you could give yourself a treat (something healthy, preferably) or buy a book or something like that.
3. Track your progress. The scale is probably the most popular way to see your progress, but other ways include measuring your waist, or taking photos of yourself each month. You could also track your performance — for example, do a 5K every month to see if you’re getting faster, or log your miles to see them increase. However you do it, you should have some kind of objective way to see your progress over the weeks and months. Otherwise, you might not really notice the difference — but the numbers or pictures will.
4. Enjoy yourself. Very very important. If you see your exercise as extremely difficult, or painful, you won’t be able to sustain it for long. You’ll quit. If you see your diet as very restrictive, or torture, you’ll go back to junk food in a short while. You must find exercise that you enjoy, and find healthy foods that taste good to you. Maybe not chocolate cake good, but good nonetheless. Experiment with new recipes until you find ones you absolutely love. (Try my soup and chili recipes for example.) Above all, enjoy the whole process. It’s what’s kept me doing it — I love my new life.
5. Never ever give up. Maybe the most important truth on this list. If you give up, you won’t get to your goal. Very obvious, I know, but the problem is that people don’t put this into action. Messing up by falling back into junk food or stopping exercise — that happens. Life gets in the way. No one is perfect. Just forget about that stuff, and move on. Learn from your failures, adjust your plan to prevent the same thing from happening again, and start again. If you stop, that’s OK — just start again. Always start again. If you do that, there’s no way you won’t eventually get to your goal.
6. Get a workout partner. I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s been the key to my most recent exercise success. I began running with my sister, Katrina (who btw is an incredible inspiration — she’s come a very long way in the last year), and even though we’re at different levels, we really enjoy our runs. When we agree to meet at 5 a.m. for a run, I have to be there, or I disappoint her. And sure, once in awhile we cancel appointments, but most of the time we’re there, and we run, and that’s the important thing. These months of running with her have really gotten me in much better shape. Now I’m also running with my wife, so having two workout partners is taking me to another level. Get a workout partner. Best move I’ve ever made.
7. Brush your teeth after dinner. This is such a simple thing, but it really helps. It makes you have that fresh, clean feeling in your mouth, and makes you not want to eat an after-dinner snack. For me, after-dinner snacks or desserts are what ruin my diet a lot of the time.
8. Vary your workouts. This helps keep things fresh and fun. For runners, for example, don’t just do 3 miles every day at the same pace. Vary the distance, the route, the speed. Do intervals. And do stuff other than running — go hiking, go biking, play basketball, do strength training, swim, paddle. Mixing it up will get you in even better shape, challenging your body in new ways, and making it an enjoyable process.
9. Focus. There are always a lot of things we want to accomplish, goals we want to focus on … but by spreading ourselves thin, we lose focus and energy. Focus on one thing at a time in order to really get it ingrained as a habit. For example, for one month, focus on adding healthier foods to your diet (and dropping some of the less healthy ones). After that month, it’ll be ingrained. The next month, add walking or jogging or something like that, and only focus on that. One goal at a time, one month at a time, and you’ll get healthy.

10. Rest is important. People who really get into exercise often forget this. Without rest, exercise just keeps breaking down our muscles, and they don’t have time to recover and grow. The exercise puts stress on our bodies, and the rest allows them to adapt and improve. Without the rest, they can’t really improve. You should always follow a day of hard workouts with a day of rest. If you’ve been exercising a long time (and then you probably don’t need this article), you can do hard-easy days, or rotate different types of exercises so that parts of your body are getting rest on different days, but even then always have at least one day of complete rest, or you’ll get burned out.
11. Shoot for a year or two, not a few weeks. There are no instant fitness fixes, no matter what that website or magazine promises. Don’t believe them. Getting fit and healthy takes time, and should be gradual. If you’ve got a long way to go, aim to be healthy after a year. Those with a very long way might shoot for two years. Those closer to the goal could try for 6 months. Main thing: gradual improvement.
12. Focus on your diet first. I’m a huge proponent of exercise for health and other benefits, but if you’re looking to lose weight and/or fat, the biggest factor is diet. You can cut out more calories from what you eat than you can burn with exercise. Of course, both should be vital components of your fitness regiment, but start on diet first, then add exercise. Don’t think that because you are exercising you can eat whatever you want (unless you’re a marathoner or triathlete or something like that) — you won’t reach your fitness goals that way, most likely.
13. Don’t compare yourself to magazine models. Seriously. I’m sure we’ve all done this, wishing we looked like that slim or cut or buff model on the cover of a magazine. It’s natural. However, it’s not healthy. First of all, genetics plays a key factor in how these models look — most of us don’t have body types like that. Second, these models don’t usually look like that — they go on special diets a couple weeks before a photo shoot, so they look perfect for that day. Third, most of these magazines do some pretty heavy photoshopping. And fourth, what’s important is getting a healthy body image, not trying to look like a perfect model. Focus on health, not appearance.
14. Find the exercise that works for you. I love running, but not everybody is born to be a runner. Many people enjoy swimming or water aerobics. Many like lifting weights. Many like cycling, or tae bo, or Pilates. Others like sports like basketball or soccer or rugby. It doesn’t really matter what you choose, as long as you’re moving and you enjoy what you’re doing. Also find the solution that works best: working at the gym, going on the road (running and cycling, for example), working out at home (which I do), etc. Choose the one that you’re most likely to stick to.
15. Learn to be present. Going back to one of the key principles above, “enjoy yourself”, one of the best ways to do that is to learn to really be present when you exercise and eat. For example, when you run, try to keep your mind in the moment, and feel your body and your breathing, and experience your surroundings as your run past them. As you eat, really taste the food and feel the textures, instead of gobbling it down mindlessly. It makes the entire experience much more enjoyable.
16. Don’t let your body adapt too much. Sometimes we hit plateaus, where we’re still doing the same exercise but not really improving. The reason is that you have to keep changing things, either taking your exercise to a slightly higher level (gradually), or giving it new angles or routines. Otherwise, your body adapts to doing the same exercise over and over, and it stops improving. Once you start hitting a plateau, take it to a new level by increasing intensity or length of time in some way.
17. Get inspired. Another key concept for me. I like to read blogs or websites that show me how others have been successful. One Zen Habits reader, for example, recently gave me some inspiration with his blog, Fat Man Unleashed. He’s doing a great job, making amazing progress, and it’s inspirational. Fitness magazines, for me, began to seem useless, because they just rehash the same articles over and over. But then I realized that I like to read these magazines for the inspiration, not the information. Find something to inspire you and it’ll keep you going.