How to blow your job interview

By Mary Ann Milbourn | Orange County Register

June 25, 2011 at 6:00 a.m.

If you want a job, you need to make the company want you and the best way to do that is go to a job interview knowing as much as you can about your would-be employer.

Not knowing anything about a company was the No. 1 complaint about job applicants in an Accountemps survey of 1,000 senior managers at companies of 20 more employees.

**Top job interview mistakes**
Mistake	%
Little or no knowledge of the company	38%
Unprepared to discuss career plans, goals	20%
Lack of eye contact	10%
Late arrival	9%
Limited enthusiasm	9%

“Knowing about an organization’s services, history, goals and business challenges when you walk into an interview shows initiative and will allow you to make a stronger case for how you can contribute to the firm’s success,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Job Hunting For Dummies®, 2nd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).

At the very least, he said a job seeker should visit the company’s website or conduct online research prior to meeting with a hiring manager. Also contact people in your network and check social media channels for additional insights about the organization.

“Professionals should keep in mind that the interview also is a chance for them to assess if the role is one they would enjoy,” Messmer said. “Thorough preparation helps job seekers ask the right questions to determine if the opportunity is a good fit.”

Surprisingly, the Accountemps respondents did not mention the biggest pet peeve cited by hiring managers in other surveys — answering a cell phone or texting during a job interview. Read other job interview no-no’s HERE.

For more advice on landing a job, read columns by the Orange County Register’s job expert, Brad Remillard.