Vault, who describe themselves as “the most trusted name in career information” has just released a survey about Interview Etiquette for both applicants and interviewers. Pop over to their site to review the whole survey and learn something.

There’s lots of information that tells you how you compare with other applicants. You’ll find out that 84 percent of applicants said they prepared at least an hour for their interview. Sixty percent said they took two hours or more. How much time do you use to prepare?

Some bits of data will give you clues about what not to do. Vault asked interviewers how many had an interview interrupted when an applicant took a cell phone call. Twenty-six percent said they had. Leaving your cell phone on when you go into an interview will make you stand out, but not in a good way.

Everybody, including my mother, thinks that thank-you notes are a good idea. But the Vault data highlight an interesting discrepancy.

More than half of all the applicants responding said they “almost always send a thank-you note.” But that’s not how the interviewers remember things. Over a third say they “rarely” or “hardly ever” receive a thank you note.

Eighty percent of interviewers say a thank-you note is either “extremely” or “somewhat” important. So you can take this as an opportunity to stand out in good way.

You’ll be more likely to prepare well, avoid gaffs like having your cell phone ring during an interview, and make sure to send a thank-you note if you use simple checklists to guide your behavior. Here are suggestions for three of them.

Have a preparation checklist. Include items about researching the company, making sure you have the right attire, and to make sure you get directions to the interview site.

Have a pre-interview checklist that reminds you to turn off your cell phone (or leave it in the car), and helps you remember to take all the documents you need. Have a post-interview checklist that helps assure that you send that thank-you note and mark your calendar for any necessary follow-up.

Interviews are stressful enough. Use simple systems and checklists to make sure you get the basics done so you can concentrate on the interview itself.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 4:21 am and is filed under Tools and Strategies for Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.