Can you be accurately summed up after a short conversation with a complete stranger? Do you think it’s fair that your entire career and work essence is judged within seconds?

Assuming your resume isn’t full of false truth and you get through to an interview, what’s next?

Be yourself. Be genuine. Be authentic.

Like it or not, an interview is a sales meeting. You are selling yourself - your professional skill as well as your personality. The flip side that most job candidates tend to forget, however, is the company interviewing you is just as interested in winning you over as you are winning them.

Be Excited It’s hard to gauge whether a candidate is truly passionate about their work in a single interview because most people are too nervous to really show their true self. It’s too easy to want to please the interviewer - but you need to remember that the person interviewing you wants you to do well, wants to hire you for the position, and would prefer if you did well so they can stop performing interviews and get back to work.

Be Honest It’s irritating (not to mention painfully obvious) when the person you’re interviewing with tries to use marketing spin to cover their lack of knowledge on any subject area. If you don’t know the answer to the interviewer’s question, just say so. You won’t lose points because it’s impossible for someone to have an answer to every question - the exception, of course, if when you can’t answer any questions, in which case the job may not be a good fit for you in the first place.

Be Independent Some people recommend following up with your interviewer a few days after the interview. I’m not necessarily against this practice but I don’t like to do it because usually if the company is excited about hiring you they will contact you fairly soon after the interview. A bad or so-so interview doesn’t mean you definitely won’t get the job, but if you aren’t receiving a call back you are probably better off moving on rather than pushing for a response.