#5. Top Ten Interviewing Mistakes: Tense and low energy

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Recruiting is tough. You will spend countless hours writing emails, going to career events, and will go through at least 30 interviews if you’ve recruited well. Fatigue is the enemy of a student. When you’re tired, your face will show it. When you’re exhausted, you’ll want to let everyone around feel your pain. When people ask you how your day has gone, you’ll reply with, “just very tired because of recruiting and school.”

Everything is always positive when speaking to a company representative

Absolutely everything is positive. If an interviewer asks you how your day is going, you should respond with “My day is going amazing!” The company wants to know:

• Are you someone that I could see myself sitting next to on a 5 hour flight?
• When it’s crunch time and deadlines are due, will you panic and bring a low energy to the team because you’re frustrated or do you rise up to the occasion and infuse your team with energy?
• How well can you deal with your emotions and stress level?
• Do you leave your personal life outside the door or do you bring it in with you into the office?

Always Smile: Smile at the career fairs, info sessions, and during the interview. If you’re on a phone interview, then smile with your voice.

Students often get stressed throughout the interview season and their faces become very tense. Wearing a tense face instantly starts the interview on a low level and the interviewer will remember that she felt awkward and bored during your interview. Smiling is an easy way to force yourself to break your tense demeanor and start the interview off on a high level.

Be Enthusiastic: If you don’t make your interview stories sound entertaining, then the interviewer will find it boring and she’ll begin to doze off. Be energetic and bring up your level of enthusiasm during your interview. Remember, emotions are much stronger than words. If they feel your enthusiasm, they will remember liking you during the interview and you’ll have a great chance to move on to second rounds or to get the offer.

We will stress this time and time again. People who get jobs smile; people who don’t get jobs do not smile. Smiling creates a positive emotional feeling and makes you more approachable. If you constantly have a positive attitude, then companies will feel comfortable putting you in front of their clients because of your warm and friendly feel.

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