An unfortunate reality for many jobseekers out there is that for many of the roles you apply for you'll never hear back again.
That makes the ones you do receive a response on all the more precious, and if you get invited to a job interview, it's suddenly a very nervy situation as you've likely had to go through all sorts of applications to actually get this invitation.
With that in mind, you definitely don't want to blow your chances by doing the wrong thing, like one person did after they fell for the 'receptionist trick'.
It sounds like there's all sorts of 'tricks' to navigate in job interviews if the hiring manager is in the mood to spring them on you, which sounds like quite the rigmarole.
Advert
Now, there's another one to be aware of as an expert explained why you should ask for a drink during a job interview if one is offered to you.
According to employment coach Jackie Racine, if you go in for a job interview and the staff there ask if you'd like a drink you should 'always say yes'.
Apparently, this will help with your performance in the job interview, and not because you'll at least get a free drink out of it should you not end up getting the job.
The employment coach said there was some 'behavioural science' behind why you should ask for a drink if offered one, saying it played on the 'Ben Franklin effect'.
Advert
"This theory suggests that when someone does a favour for you they tend to like you more afterwards," Jackie explained, and in this case them doing you the favour of getting you a drink would make them like you more in the interview.
She said it would make someone think they must like you because they were doing this favour for you.
Frankly, it seems like there's all sorts of tips, tricks and pitfalls surrounding drinks when it comes to job interviews.
One interviewer has something called the 'coffee test' where he'd take interviewees on a tour of the workplace and always somehow end up in the kitchen having a coffee.
Advert
The test part would come through judging the prospective employee on what they did with their mug once it was empty, and the right answer was to take it back to the kitchen so it could be washed up.
Meanwhile, Steve Jobs would employ a rather different sort of drinks-based test by offering to take interviewees out for a beer so he could get to know them better outside the confines of the job interview.
Taking them out for a drink could get them to loosen up, and then he'd hit them with the questions he really wanted to ask.
Joe Harker