| Turn off your mobile phone | - Worst-case if you forget, do not answer, hang up immediately, turn it off and apologise.
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| Always wear a suit for the first interview | - First impressions do count, even in the most relaxed of environments.
- Unless advised otherwise by your recruiter, always wear a professional standard of dress and grooming for the first interview.
- Depending on the tone of the company you might want to then dress more in the style of their current employees for follow up meetings.
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| Make a good first impression | - Smell good! Stale cigarette smoke, coffee breath or too much perfume will leave a poor impression.
- Look good! Whatever you wear, ensure that it is clean, ironed and well co-ordinated.
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| Prepare, Prepare, Prepare | - Find out from your recruiter exactly who will be in the meeting, what you need to prepare and the format of the interview.
Think through likely questions prior to the interview and role play your responses with someone who can provide advice.
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| Let your recruiter deal with the question of salary | - They are the professionals, they know your and the employer's expectations.
- Be honest with the recruiter about your expectations so there are no surprises later in the process.
- If asked in the interview what your salary expectations are, explain that you are interested in the role and would prefer to leave it to your recruiter to negotiate the best deal for you.
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| Avoid clichés | - Of course you work well autonomously and also in a team, and of course your weakness is you work too hard and are a perfectionist!
- Be more specific in your answers and relate them directly to the work that you have done in the past.
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| Treat everyone you meet with respect | - Front line staff are just as important to an organization as management, and their opinion and first impression will often count in the hiring process.
- Who knows who you are sharing the elevator with on the way to or from the office, so be pleasant, make eye contact and smile.
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| In panel interviews make a conscious effort to talk to, and make eye contact with, everyone in the meeting. | - Directing your answers to the one person you think is most important (and dismissing HR or a team member) could show issue in terms of dealing with a team, ego, discrimination or general attitude.
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| Don't panic if the interview is tough | - If the employer is really interested in you they will push you harder, dig deeper and try concealing their interest in you, so you may leave feeling unsure about how you went.
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| There is no such thing as a hand shake meeting or an informal coffee chat | - There is no such thing as a hand shake meeting.
- There is no such thing as an informal coffee chat.
- The final interview or the initial coffee chat, even if you are told is "just informal", is as crucial as any in securing a position and needs to be taken seriously.
- Go in too casual, cocky or unprepared and you may lose a position.
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