The next step after passing out your resume to hundreds, and maybe even thousands, of potential employers is to hope for a job interview or two. When you do land a job interview you need to be sure that you treat the opportunity with the utmost of respect and know how you should conduct yourself once inside the office of the interviewer.

Here are some things you should always do at any job interview you have:

• Shake Hands: The first thing you should do is smile and shake hands with the person who will interview you. Be sure to look at them while you do this and thank them for the opportunity right off the bat.
• Keep Eye Contact: While the interview is going on, show the interviewer that you are intently interested on what they are saying by keeping eye contact. Looking around the room or staring off into space will only have them thinking you are not paying attention and will certainly not help your chances at landing the job.
• Speak Clearly: Nothing has the tendency to turn off an interviewer more than you saying, “Ummm” or ‘Uhhh.” Speak slowly and clearly and try to avoid tripping on your own words.
• Watch Your Posture: You want to be comfortable, but do not slouch in your chair. Sit up and keep a professional look that tells the interviewer, “Hey, I’m not lazy, in fact I am a hard worker.”

It’s all pretty simple really. In any interview you have a very limited amount of time to convince the interviewer that you are the person for the job. However, this can’t be done with great ease if you are not paying attention to what you are doing in the interview itself. If you get to lackadaisical with the process, you will likely find that you have to keep on looking for a job opportunity because that one will likely be blown.

Sometimes part of nailing a job interview is all about what you don’t do in that interview. It may sound like a no brainer, but there are many people who simply leave their manners at the door and whether they intend to or not, they come off rude and obnoxious.

First things first, when you arrive at the job interview make sure you shake the interviewer’s hand. Look them in the eye as you do so and smile politely. When you take your seat don’t flop down and whatever you do, don’t slouch in your chair.

When you are asked a question give an answer clearly. Nothing is more agitating to some people than to have a person who is mumbling and that cannot be understood. You should also be sure that you are not chewing gum while talking or not talking. Nobody wants to hear you chewing your gum like a cow chews cud while they try to interview you.

You should also be well rested so you don’t yawn. If you have to yawn try to be inconspicuous about it. If you yawn then you will look as though you are boarded with the interview and the interviewer may take offense to that and end the interview early.

Checking your watch will have a similar effect of yawning. You have to make the interviewer feel as though there is nowhere else on Earth that you want to be other than in their office for that interview. In fact, the best policy is to just leave your watch at home. If you are not tempted to look then you won’t.

Above all else, be courteous and respectful of the interview and their time. Avoid slang terms and speak with as much eloquence as you can. You only get one first impression with a job interviewer so you have to avoid all the no, no’s in order to make your impression a lasting one for all the right reasons.

Sometimes part of nailing a job interview is all about what you don’t do in that interview. It may sound like a no brainer, but there are many people who simply leave their manners at the door and whether they intend to or not, they come off rude and obnoxious.

First things first, when you arrive at the job interview make sure you shake the interviewer’s hand. Look them in the eye as you do so and smile politely. When you take your seat don’t flop down and whatever you do, don’t slouch in your chair.

When you are asked a question give an answer clearly. Nothing is more agitating to some people than to have a person who is mumbling and that cannot be understood. You should also be sure that you are not chewing gum while talking or not talking. Nobody wants to hear you chewing your gum like a cow chews cud while they try to interview you.

You should also be well rested so you don’t yawn. If you have to yawn try to be inconspicuous about it. If you yawn then you will look as though you are boarded with the interview and the interviewer may take offense to that and end the interview early.

Checking your watch will have a similar effect of yawning. You have to make the interviewer feel as though there is nowhere else on Earth that you want to be other than in their office for that interview. In fact, the best policy is to just leave your watch at home. If you are not tempted to look then you won’t.

Above all else, be courteous and respectful of the interviewer and their time. Avoid slang terms and speak with as much eloquence as you can. You only get one first impression with a job interviewer so you have to avoid all the no, no’s in order to make your impression a lasting one for all the right reasons.

There are so many people who will go to an interview and be caught off guard. This is the easiest thing to avoid and if you are well prepared for your job interview then you will give yourself the best possible chance at nailing the interview and hopefully landing the job as a result.

The best way to be prepared for a job interview is by practicing in advance of your interview. This starts with knowing every aspect of your resume. Go over your resume several times as you never know what you will be asked about at the interview about your resume. If you forget what you put on your resume you may have the potential employer thinking that you made up certain parts of your resume. After all, if you don’t know you, who does?

You also need to practice how you will answer questions. To do this give yourself an interview. As silly as it sounds, it is a very easy and also very effective exercise. Look in the mirror and ask yourself a series of questions. Be sure you ask yourself the all important, “Tell me about yourself,” question as you know it will crop up in the real interview. Really study not only what you say, but how you say it as well. Saying the words uhhh, ummm, and ahhh too much do not lend well to your credibility.

After you have interviewed yourself ask yourself if you would hire you. If the answer is yes you are good to go, if it is no then conduct another interview.

Remember, practice makes perfect and a job interview is no exception to that rule. By being well prepared and knowing what to say ahead of time, you will be able to give yourself a strong advantage and a boost in confidence when you go in for the actual interview itself.