Many sales people come to interviews armed with their Brag File - a folder containing complimentary letters from customers or suppliers - saying what a wonderful service they've provided. This is fine in most cases. This week I have been interviewing sales people and a number of them wanted me to read the contents of their folder rather than answering my questions. This is not.

When the interviewer asks a question they expect it to be answered verbally - not to look at the answer in a file. It takes up too much time and means that the interviewer doesn't hear about the situation from the candidate.

This is also a good tip for graduates: many of you bring to interview, folders that show course work or letters of commendation from your tutors or managers of work placements. This is fine and shows that you are well planned. You must, however, always answer the questions first - then reinforce your answer by briefly showing the interviewer the evidence in your file.

Make sure your file is well presented and organised - work out a system that means you can refer to its contents quickly and the interviewer will not fail to be impressed.