Lorne Epstein quickly jotted a thank-you note and sealed the already addressed and stamped envelope as he sat in a cafe at Union Station. He had just finished a job interview and wanted the company to receive the personal note as quickly as possible.
As the author of “You’re Hired! Interview Skills To Get The Job,” Mr. Epstein advises all job candidates to mail a written note immediately after interviewing for a position. This time, he is following his own advice.
“The more competitive the job is, the more candidates there are going to be, and every little thing counts,” said Mr. Epstein, who lives in Arlington. “A thank-you note may be the small thing that makes a difference.”
First impressions can be vital to a successful job interview. But recruiters look for more than a well-spoken candidate.
Statistically, 55 percent of a first impression is based on the way a person dresses and acts, whereas only 7 percent is based on spoken words, according to the commonly cited “Silent Messages” study, conducted in 1971 by University of California at Los Angeles psychology professor Albert Mehrabian.
Candidates should be careful to stay away from certain behaviors — those mistakes that can quickly ruin a perfectly good interview, say job-interview specialists.
“It’s like a first date,” said Sueley Lohr, manager of recruitment strategies for Verizon, which hired more than 20,000 people last year. “You don’t have much chance of a second date, if the first date doesn’t go well.”
Details such as a candidate showing up in inappropriate attire can become an immediate turnoff, said Miss Lohr, who has conducted thousands of interviews for Verizon and other companies.
“You try as much as possible to be impartial and keep an open mind,” she said, recalling a time a candidate showed up to an interview in flip flops. “But it’s very hard to do. The first impression makes a big impact.”
One of the biggest mistakes made at interviews is a lack of preparedness, said Mike Schaub, executive director of the Career Center at Georgetown University. The center recommends that students practice sample questions beforehand, either with a friend or family member. Students often forget to prepare for common end-of-meeting questions, when interviewers will ask if the candidate has any questions.
It is always a good idea to have at least a few questions prepared, Mr. Schaub said. This way, job candidates are not passive players in the interview.
“It shows that you are really interested in the company,” he said. “To ask questions shows you’ve done your research. You understand the job. You understand the company.”
Mr. Epstein also emphasized the importance of showing up prepared. Researching the company and the industry it is in beforehand is key, he said.
Sometimes the biggest mistakes can be made before an interview even occurs.
Miss Lohr stressed the importance of having a clearly organized resume, free of spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
“Most of the time people get interviewed because you have seen their resume and were impressed,” she said. “So if you have a bad resume, I don’t even set up an interview.”
Often, an interview may take place over lunch or dinner, which brings up a whole new arena for mistakes.
Both Mr. Epstein and Mr. Schaub recommended candidates follow the interviewer’s lead on what to order in terms of both price and other variables. They also said to stay away from hard-to-eat foods.
“This,” Mr. Epstein said pointing to his own shrimp cocktail, “would not be a good idea.
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