Getting to the Interview on Time
There is one thing you can do to sabotage your chances of getting hired even before you shake the interviewer's hand. If you arrive late for the interview, you might as well write your own rejection letter. Your prospective employer will be offended. Even showing up exactly on time is a bad idea. Running in at the last minute will throw you off, and you will not perform as well as you might have had you arrived with a few minutes to spare. There are a few things you can do to reduce your risk of being late.
Fact
If you have access to the Internet, you can plan your trip online. Use mapping websites to plan your trip if you're driving. Many municipal transit systems have their schedules and routes online. You can type in your starting point and your destination, using landmarks, addresses, or intersections to plan your trip.
When a prospective employer calls to ask you to come in for an interview, be sure to find out exactly where the interview will take place. Some companies have offices in more than one location. These addresses can be across town or merely across the street from one another. Regardless of the distance between them, you do not want to waste time wandering from one place to another.
Once you know where you have to go, you have to figure out how to get there. If you are driving, map out a route and, if possible, an alternate route just in case you hit some traffic snags along the way. If you have to take a train or a bus, make sure you know which lines you have to ride and which ones you can ride instead if something should happen to interrupt service.
You should plan to arrive for your interview early. It is best to get there at least 10 or 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment. If you decide to be an early bird, though, do not show up inside your prospective employer's office any more than 10 to 15 minutes prior to your appointment. Doing so may make the interviewer feel like you are pressuring her to start the interview early.
