Are You SURE You Want This Job?

• Position: Employment interviews - Brief Article

Despite the fertile job market that awaits them, this year's college graduates should be aware of what not to do in a job interview. OfficeTeam, a staffing service for office and administrative professionals, asked its managers nationwide to describe the most unusual college graduate job interview antics they had ever heard of from clients and colleagues, generating the following responses:

* "A candidate waiting in the lobby opened a large bag of cheese crunchies and began eating them. When the interviewer greeted him, he extended a hand covered with orange dust."

* "The interviewer walked into the lobby to meet a nervous candidate, whose mouth displayed a ring of antacid from the bottle he was holding."

* "In the waiting area, the job seeker told the interviewer that he could not work for a firm with no pictures on the wall and an overall lack of ambiance. He then left."

"Candidates reaching the interview stage have demonstrated strong skills and potential to the hiring manager through their resumes," indicates Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam. "But elements that surface in the interview--the content and delivery of answers, professional appearance, and a positive attitude--are deciding factors in terms of who gets the offer. Candidates who neglect any of these areas can easily take themselves out of the running, even in a high employment market."

Other responses show what not to say during the interview:

* "When asked why she wanted the job, a recent graduate replied, `I'm here for a paycheck ... isn't everybody?'"

* "The first thing the applicant said when he reached the hiring manager's office was, `If I come to work here, you'll have to fix the door in the lobby. It aggravates me when it slams shut.'"

* "When asked where she saw herself in five years, the candidate replied, `How am I supposed to know--isn't that your job?'"

* "A candidate with long fingernails was asked to take a typing test. Without comment, she reached over the interviewer's desk, grabbed his scissors and snipped off her nails, one by one. She then said, `That just doubled my number of words per minute.'"

* A candidate came to the interview with her baby. When the child would not...