by Steve Adubato, PhD

Recently, the television production company that I’ve run for the past two decades conducted interviews for an open producer’s position. We received dozens of resumes and interviewed numerous people. The experience reminded me and my colleagues of the many communication faux pas and idiosyncrasies people bring with them, which adversely impact their ability to find gainful employment. I call it “communication baggage”.

Here is a sampling of what we saw and what you should consider the next time you are in a job interview, make a sales presentation or engage in any professional circumstance that requires you to communicate effectively:

--Be on time. Several interviewees arrived late. Before you even start talking, you are behind the eight ball. Being late for a job interview communicates a sense of sloppiness, laziness, disorganization and a pretty apathetic attitude. Better yet, instead of being on time, show up 5 minutes early. (Anything before that may communicate that you are a little too anxious.)

--Appearance matters…a lot. Don’t wear too much makeup or clothes that are inappropriate and distracting. One applicant was wearing so much perfume that it made the job interviewing experience uncomfortable for everyone on our team. Dress conservatively and don’t draw attention to your appearance or your clothes in any way. Short skirts are out, low necklines are just as bad and four to six inch heels? What are you communicating there? The key is to have nothing distract from you, your message and a positive, can-do attitude. And one guy had a Rolex on, which conjured up images of boxing promoter Don King.

--Speak in clear, concise sentences. Several individuals we interviewed punctuated every other sentence with, “um”, “you know” and “like.” These communication “fillers” sent us the message that the job applicant didn’t have command of the English language and weren’t aware of these irritating habits that get in the way of your effectiveness. Further, some applicants used communication qualifiers like, “I think I can do a good job…” or, “If you give me a chance, I may be able to make a difference…” Instead, a job applicant should say, “I can make a difference in your organization…” or “I know I can help you improve your XYZ…”.

--Be prepared. Look at the organization’s website BEFORE the interview and learn about the company, its mission, its products, etc. This will help you know what is important to the interviewer, and will also allow you to formulate some smart questions about how you will fit into the organization. When an applicant says, “Tell me more about your organization...” it’s as if they are saying, “I don’t know anything about you, because I am so lazy I couldn’t go online and check you out…”.

--Wait to talk about money. Don’t ask what your salary will be or try to negotiate salary if it is posted clearly in the job description. Countless people brought up the issue of salary well before they had a remotely reasonable shot of getting the job. This communicates desperation. If you want to work for the company but money matters that much, once an offer is made, take the job and say something like, “In three months I would like to have you evaluate my job performance and consider increasing the salary if you feel that I’m making an exceptional contribution to your team.” Now THAT communicates a sense of confidence that any prospective employer can appreciate.

--Bring along a pen, a notepad and extra copies of your resume. Several job applicants asked, “Do you have something I can write with? I didn’t bring anything. Also, do you have paper?” Those interviews went nowhere fast. You can imagine why.

Simply put, everything we do and say (or don’t say) communicates something, be it in a job interview, sales presentation or negotiation. Hopefully, you can learn from the mistakes of the people described above, who I predict will have a very tough time finding a job in a very difficult job market.