The way you carry yourself and the attitude you project to the interviewer have a great impact on your potential for being hired. There is certainly nothing wrong with attempting to sell yourself to the interviewer but you want to do it by drawing attention to your education and experience and not come across with an attitude that gives the impression you believe your skills are far superior to that of anyone else. Of course that is the image you want to portray—that you are the best person for the job—but you don’t want to do it in such a way that it appears you are trying to convince yourself more than selling yourself to the company. . Another part of attitude that should remain concealed is that of your feelings about your current or previous employers. For example, if you were terminated because of something that was not your fault; do not make an issue of it by degrading the company or your supervisor. Since most employers today will not give information other than your job title and the length of your employment, you can downplay the situation immensely. That does not mean you lie about what happened but just do not dwell on it—make it short and simple.
Under no circumstances should you enter your interviewer’s office with any kind of attitude that is the result of something that happened before your interview—fight with your boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse, getting a ticket, or any other personal issues. When you arrive at your interview, you need to leave any personal issues outside the door so that you can present the best side of your personality to the interviewer. The interviewer could care less if you had a fight with your spouse before you left for your interview—all he or she wants is to find out if you are qualified for the position that is open with the company.
Do not become irritated or offended if you find out you will have to take a drug and alcohol test if chosen for the job. Your attitude tells the interviewer a great deal, and if you appear agitated over the possibility of a drug test the message you will send is that you have something to hide and will most likely fail the test. That will cause the interviewer to skip over your application or choose someone else.
