Interview Tips >What To Do With Your Cell Phone at the Job Interview
“Hold on, one second, I have to take this. Yo! Johnny! What’s up bro! No, I’m not too busy, just finishing up this job interview here. Yeah, I think I’ve got this in the bag. This chick be all like ‘I’m impressed by your qualifications’ and I be all like ‘you know it baby, now why don’t you hop into my Volkswagon Rabbit and you and I can rent a room on my new found paycheck, you know what I’m saying? Yeah, you know… oh, hold on, hold on, this interviewer chick is trying to say something. What’s that? What do you mean you’re not giving me the job?”
It doesn’t take a genius to understand why you should not answer your cell phone at the job interview. Answering your cell phone is rude and unprofessional, and unless you are worried that someone is going to die if you don’t take the call, the call can probably wait.
Cell Phones Off, Not On Silent
Most people turn their cell phones on vibrate to avoid appearing unprofessional. This makes a lot of sense, since you probably don’t want the interviewer to know that your ringtone is “Every Girl” by Lil Wayne.
Vibrate, however, is also bad. It may come as a surprise, but interviewers are not actually hard of hearing. They can hear the buzz, buzz, buzz sound coming from your pocket every time you get a phone call or text message. Your phone needs to be off completely.
- When your phone is off the interviewer cannot hear it vibrate or ring.
- When the phone is off, you will not be distracted by the vibrations.
- When your phone is off, your pocket won’t light up because someone is calling you.
Don’t just turn off your cell phone for the interviewer. Turn it off for you. It’s hard to avoid temptation to check the cell phone when you have a moment because you know someone called or sent a text message, but your interview is about you and the job, not about who is texting you. Keep your cell phone off at all times, so there is no motivation to check it before, during, or after your interview.
Before You Turn the Phone Off
Cell phones have a lot of buttons. Before you turn your cell phone off, make sure you have turned it on silent, so that if the phone comes back on by accident, it does not ring during your interview. Many interviews have been ruined by previously-turned-off cell phones turning themselves back on in the middle of the interview.
Your cell phone needs to be completely silent and completely off. Only then can you make sure it doesn’t distract you or the interviewer, and won’t detract from you getting the job.
Take Away Interview Tips
- Keep your cell phone on silent.
- Keep your cell phone off.
- The real lyrics to “Every Girl” are rated R.
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