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Deborah Walker on Quintcareers.com offers these 10 very simple, but critical bloopers to avoid when going out to interview for your next job.

1) Poor handshake
2) Talking too much
3) Talking negatively about current or past employers/managers
4) Showing up late or too early
5) Treating the receptionist rudely
6) Asking about benefits, vacation time or salary
7) Not preparing for the interview
Verbal ticks
9) Not enough/too much eye contact
10) Failure to match communication style

Very sound reasons are given for each of these points. I encourage you to check it out!

CrackInterview.info has a pretty good list of the top 64 questions you might be asked in an interview, and also how to best answer some of them.

Here are some:

Q1 Tell me about yourself.
Q2 What are your greatest strengths?
Q3 What are your greatest weaknesses?
Q4 Tell me about something you did – or failed to do – that you now feel a little ashamed of.
Q5 Why are you leaving (or did you leave) this position?
Q6 The “Silent Treatment”
Q7 Why should I hire you?
Q8 Aren’t you overqualified for this position?
Q9 Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Q10 Describe your ideal company, location and job.

An example answer for the first question:

TRAPS: Beware, about 80% of all interviews begin with this “innocent” question. Many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient work history or personal matters.

BEST ANSWER: Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Remember that the key to all-successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. In other words you must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.

HR World has a tremendous article which outlines 100 resources for preparing for job interviews.

Here are the section headings for the list:

• Sample Interview Questions
• Answers for Candidates
• Types of Interviews
• Interviewing Techniques and Advice
• Interviewing Strategies for Candidates
• Interview Attire
• What Not to Do (our favorite)
• Preparation Resources
• Follow-Up Resources
• Résumés and References
• General Resources

Great stuff!

Robert Ellis Smith on Forbes.com has a look at what information a potential employer can request from a candidate during the interview process…and what information is off-limits.

It actually varies state-by-state, and many of these differences are noted. For instance, 31 states ban policies prohibiting off-duty smoking. So asking a candidate whether they smoke at home, could be murky waters for an interviewer to enter.

The star of the piece is the article In Pictures, which is an online slide-show that addresses many of the most common issues that come up in the interview process.

A few observations from the interviews I recently helped conduct for a technical position.

Overall, this was a pretty good crew we brought in, but each of them could’ve done things a little better. We selected 3 to bring back for second interviews, but one of them, our top candidate informed us that she’s already accepted another position. So that means we’ll only be doing two second round interviews, and one of them will be selected for the position.

Here’s some observations from the first round.

The manager I was working with stated beforehand that since he had to wear a shirt and tie for the interviews, there better be no one that was dressed casually. This position is a professional one, after all.

The first candidate came in wearing a faded polo shirt and jeans, with a somewhat ragged nylon jacket which he never removed. He also smelled very strongly of cigarette smoke. His interview went ok, but his appearance and smell sort of turned us off. If he couldn’t take the trouble to make himself presentable for the interview, what would be like to work with on a daily basis?

The second interview was dressed fine. However, when asked about some of her background, she proceeded to bash several of her previous employers. Not cool.

Our third interview was with an impeccably dressed gentleman who was very charming. Our fears were that he was too overqualified for the position and would quickly be unsatisfied in the position, which is clearly labeled an entry level job. His resume clearly stated that he was seeking a position as a Sr Network Administrator. We still wanted to see if he would be able to accept doing the entry level work, and could see that he was clearly looking at it as a jumping off point, just a temporary stop on the way to bigger and better things. The problem is, there really wasn’t room for that type of growth.

I also had a bit of concern with how he answered some of our questions. He clearly had prepared well for the interview, and knew all the tips and tricks that a site like this, and many books will help you to use during an interview. The problem I had was that it was terribly transparent. His responses were canned, unnatural. He played “by the book” without letting us see more of who he really was. He also showed signs that he could be a bit overbearing, and if that is in the interview process, again, what would be be like in the office.

Our fourth interview started off a little slow, but grew on us as time went on. He didn’t really slip up at all, and is one of our second interview candidates.

The Fifth interview was a favorite coming in based on his resume and the quick phone conversation. He was nervous once he arrived, and had a distracting nervous laugh with many of his answers. Skill and personality wise, he seems a good fit. Our biggest concern is the distance he lives from the site. He’s getting a second interview as well.

The final interview was our best. She was terrific from start to finish and really impressed us with her skills, background and poise. We came away feeling she was the favorite. When contacted about a second interview however, she disappointed us by informing us that she had taken another job.

Just a quick post today, and it’s and oldie, but goodie. Last summer, Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy put together the top 50 questions that you are likely to get in a job interview. There is also advice on how to best address each one of those questions.

Very useful!

Sean from CareerTV has a one minute video on the importance of writing thank you letters following a job interview.

He offers a few specific tips on making sure your thank you letter is going to be effective.

I personally have always made sure to compose a thank you letter, and have gotten very good feedback from doing this. In fact, on the last job I had in the corporate world, my boss told me I was THE ONLY ONE to send the thank you note to him, and it was a big factor in my getting the job.

Dan Kegel has an outstanding guide for Computer Science graduates looking for a job out of school. He notes that in his experience of interviewing hundreds of programmers, that many of them are “woefully unprepared” for the whole interview process.

The page has the following segments:

• What Interviewers are Tired Of
• What Interviewers Look For
• What This Means For You
• But How Can I Get Experience Without a Job?
• Quick Reality Check

There are a number of useful links and resources on the page as well. If you’re a programmer looking for a job, take a few minutes and review this page!

Sarah E Needleman on Career Journal has an interesting article on an increasing trend in the hiring process - the Pre-Employment Test.

These tests can be aimed at skill, personality or the ability to fit into the company culture. These are the pointers that Needleman gives, with a bit of explanation with each.

1. Senior executives are not exempt.
2. Curb your antagonism.
3. Your candidacy can benefit.
4. Clear your schedule.
5. Exercise your brain.
6. Weak results may not matter.