Edssential article from @chrishildrew :
I’ve sat on countless interview panels and seen some sparkling, knockout performances. I’ve also seen good applicants make a real hash of it – and rule themselves out of the job. Here’s my list of dos and don’ts for interviewees…
Nerves
The best candidates are nervous. Nervous because it’s clear that they really want the job, and they are keen to demonstrate this to you. The nerves feed the performance at interview, translating into a candidate who is alert, wide-eyed and enthusiastic. This is only possible when the nerves sit on top of confidence in your ability and a self-assurance which inspires belief in the panel as well. When nerves sit on top of a lack of confidence, it is destructive – I’ve seen interviewees forget the lesson they taught that morning, forget the name of their current school, all but forget their own name. On the other hand, a lack of nerves is not natural and interviewees who come across as too relaxed and at ease are usually over-confident, may be arrogant, and that doesn’t bode well for them as a contributor to a team…