Interview CPR: Quick Fixes for 6 Interview Disasters (+ the #1 Interview Lifesaver)

We've all been there: you arrived late, accidentally spilled coffee on your resume or even broke a heel. Interviews gone wrong are an inevitable part of life and can happen to the best of us (even in our cutest outfits). But even when your interview seems far from being saved, here are the best tips on how to salvage any interview on the verge of disaster.  

Crisis: You arrived WAYYY late.
Your alarm didn't go off on time. You had 24 notifications on Facebook that you had to check. The line at Dunkin' Donuts was especially long. There was a nuclear war on I-95 this morning. Let's face it: it doesn't take too much to craft an excuse as to why you're late for anything. One collegiette™ remembers, "On my very first interview, I ended up arriving exactly when they called my name because it took me 20 minutes to parallel park. I didn't know that there was only street parking, and I never learned how to parallel park in Drivers Ed!"

Crisis Averted
First of all, nobody likes or appreciates excuses. With that in mind, the worst possible thing you could do is begin your already late interview with a laundry list of excuses as to what held you up. The fact of the matter is you arrived late. The best way to handle this is simple: APOLOGIZE. Donna Goldfeder, director of career services at Lehigh University, recommends, "If you know you are going to be running late you absolutely need to call ahead and alert them to this problem. Briefly apologize when you arrive and then get right down to business." Generally speaking, if you will be more than 10 minutes late, consider asking if you should reschedule your interview for a later time out of respect for the interviewer and those interviewing after you.

Crisis: Your cell phone goes off during the interview.
Especially on those days when you have 80 million things to remember, somehow silencing your cell always falls to bottom of the list. If it happens during class, it's embarrassing. If it happens during an interview, it's just plain rude. Katie, a collegiette™ from Cornell University, remembers, "I forgot to turn my phone off during an interview, and I ended up being interrupted by my Michael Jackson ringtone... I didn't even know what to say."
Crisis Averted
First of all, DO NOT ANSWER YOUR PHONE. While this should go without saying, the inappropriate places and situations (e.g., the movie theater, church, econ class) where people will answer their phones never cease to amaze me. While your phone call may actually be important, unless you consider it to be more imperative than having a job and an income... ignore it. If your phone rings, immediately silence it. Apologize for not turning it off before your interview began, then continue with your interview. In this situation, the worst thing you can do is act like you can't hear your phone ringing. Looking around the room pretending that you can't hear "Ice Ice Baby" blasting from your purse probably won't make you look like the brightest crayon in the box.