The job interview is typically where the job is either won or lost.

Often, you leave a job interview feeling good about your effort but when you dont get the job offer, you are left wondering what went wrong.

This is especially true these days where employers are often hesitant to provide real reasons for turning you down for or where they simply dont give you a reason that suffices.

Telling you that they found someone more suited for the position doesnt really help you improve your interviewing skills, does it?

Here are some tips to help you ensure you are doing everything right during the interview process and to ensure you arent doing anything unwittingly that might be costing you jobs:

1. Dont show up for the interview late or unprepared. There is no excuse for either. This should be obvious but Ive spoken with plenty of candidates who dont think arriving 5 minutes late for an interview is a big deal. Trust me, it is.

2. Dont under dress for the interview. Its usually best to over dress if youre not sure how to dress for the interview. Business attire is almost always standard for professional positions.

3. Dont forget to offer the interviewer a firm handshake and remember to look them in the eye and address them by name when introducing yourself. Maintain eye contact during the interview but dont stare at them constantly and freak them out.

4. Dont make it look like you are money-motivated. Employers arent interested to hire people who are simply looking for a raise. Let them bring up the issue of money, not you. It will come up when the time is right and the longer you delay the issue of money, the better for you.

5. Dont focus on your needs during the interview. Employers hire people to solve a problem not because they have a spare seat to fill. Address the needs of the employer, not what you need.

6. Dont disparage your current or former employers. Speaking poorly about your current or former employers is just bad form and does not make you look good.

7. Dont give away secrets about your employer or discuss any confidential information you know about them during the interview process even if you are asked about it. Trust is highly important when looking for a new staff member and spilling the beans about confidential information shows that you are not trustworthy.

8. Dont leave your cellphone or pager on during the Interview and certainly dont answer it if it rings.

9. Dont swear, tell off-color jokes or say anything otherwise considered offensive during the interview.

10. Show enthusiasm during the interview. Act naturally and dont forget to allow your personality to shine through.

11. Dont assume that the receptionist or whoever greets you when you arrive for the interview is unimportant. Ive seen some employers that will ask their receptionist about what they think about a person who they interviewed for a position. If the receptionist notices something that you do or say while waiting to be called into the interview, dont assume that he/she wont tell the hiring manager. Ive seen it happen and it can cost you a job.

Carl Mueller

My name is Carl Mueller and I'd like to thank you for learning a bit more about me!

I feel that I have numerous relevant experiences during my career that come in useful when helping people with their careers:

I know what it?s like to work internationally, having worked overseas (in New Zealand, from 1994-1998).

I've survived several corporate downsizings while many of my colleagues were being laid off.

I have also experienced being laid off twice myself during corporate downsizings.

I know what it?s like to be self-employed.

I've helped many people find better jobs. I started to work as a professional recruiter in 2000 first as an Information Technology (IT) recruiter and then in general recruitment across many industries including IT, manufacturing and marketing. Since this time, I have helped many people find their dream career and it?s a great feeling.

I experienced one of the slowest hiring periods in recent memory especially during the general hiring slowdown that followed the Y2K frenzy in 1999, the bursting of the dot com bubble in early 2000, and then the employment market bottoming out following September 11, 2001.

These were certainly not great times to be a job searcher in most industries nor was it a particularly good time to be a recruiter.

Following this, I began running the day to day operations of an Internet-based company in early 2003 that focused on developing online software and subscription-based websites for consumers. It was then that I fully realized the power, usefulness and potential of the Internet which really spurred me to set up my own website which you can view in my Personal URL section below this bio.

I?m also a Platinum Ezine Articles Expert as recognized by EzineArticles.com, one of the most visited websites on the Internet. This special designation is earned by having consistently high-quality articles published and viewed on their website. All of my submissions are related to helping you find your dream career and many of my articles get reproduced on other websites by their webmasters.

Good luck with your career and I hope I have been of assistance to you!