Interviews are vulnerable times. There aren't many things more nerve-wracking than walking into a room of people you desperately want to impress.
In a new survey from CareerBuilder, employers shared the most memorable job interview mistakes candidates have made and how body language can hinder their chances of moving forward in the interview process.
According to the nationwide survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from Nov. 16 to Dec. 6, 2016 among more than 2,600 hiring and human resource managers, it doesn't take long for a hiring manager to make a decision. Around half of employers (51 percent) know within the first five minutes of an interview if a candidate is a good fit for a position — on par with last year (50 percent).
"The best solution to minimize pre-interview anxiety is solid preparation," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder. "If you don't read about the company and research your role thoroughly, you could magnify your fear of interviewing poorly and lose the opportunity."
The Strangest Things People Have Done in Job Interviews
When asked to share the most unusual things job candidates have done during the interview process, employers and hiring managers recalled the following:
Body Language: Master Your Mannerisms
In a job interview, it's likely that your body language will have more of a positive impact on your success than anything you say. When asked to identify the biggest body language mistakes job seekers make during an interview, hiring managers named the following:
Easiest Ways to Ruin a Job Interview
What are the absolute worst things you can do when interviewing for a job? Here are five instant deal breakers, according to employers:
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,605 hiring and human resource managers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, including 2,391 in the private sector) between November 16 and December 6, 2016. With a pure probability sample of 2,605, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.92 percentage points.