Your best chance of getting the job of your dreams is to make an excellent impression during the employment selection interview. To do that, you’ll need to prepare carefully for the interview and then skillfully manage the communication that unfolds during the interview.

It seems unimaginable, but it happens: in the middle of an interview, a job candidate responds to a text message. Equally shocking: a job applicant tells the interviewer that he doesn’t like to get up early. Another candidate calls in sick to her current employer during the interview, faking an illness. In a survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers, these are just a few of the mistakes applicants make while interviewing for a job (Chulik, 2013). While these missteps may be funny to read about, they probably cost the applicants the jobs.

How you present yourself and communicate during a job interview can make or break your chances of getting hired. Following are some strategies for competently preparing for and managing an employment selection interview.