Common Mistakes Made During the Interview
LACKING SMART, POLISHED ANSWERS TO COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Some interview questions are meant to make you think and to struggle, but if you struggle to answer, “Why are you interviewing here?” the company recruiter will think you are unprepared, disorganized, or not truly interested in the job. Ensure you are prepared by reviewing and preparing your answers in our online question bank.CONVEYING A BAD OR NEGATIVE ATTITUDE
Interviewers will value you in large part for your skills, but they also care whether you will be a person their staff will want to work with. Negative, aggressive, caustic, droll, overbearing or overly opinionated attitudes do not make for a good work environment and, if demonstrated during a job interview, will often eliminate you from consideration. Make sure you get noticed for the right reasons.SEEMING INCOHERENT OR UNFOCUSED
Failing to stay focused on the interview as it progresses, expressing unsettled thoughts, or jumping from topic to topic will make you seem to an interviewer like someone who will not be able to focus on the job. Being able to pay attention and stay engaged in the conversation is crucial.LYING
Any lie, no matter how trivial, made to an interviewer during your interview or in prior correspondence, will most likely cost you the job. As recruiters always say, “even little lies make a big impression.” No interviewer wants to hire someone who is deceptive and dishonest.BEHAVING INAPPROPRIATELY
Behaving inappropriately with an interviewer, using inappropriate language, or becoming overly emotional or unprofessional are simply unacceptable in an interview and will all but ensure you will not be hired.USING PROFANITY OR SLANG EXPRESSIONS
Always be professional. Always. Avoid using slang words. No interviewer wants to hire someone that cannot talk to management or clients in a professional, educated-seeming manner.SPEAKING INARTICULATELY OR FAILING TO ENUNCIATE
You are at an interview to market yourself and convince the interviewer that you are the right person for the job. Mumbling, failing to speak loudly and clearly enough to be heard and understood would only undercut your efforts. Avoid using ‘filler’ or ‘stalling’ words such as “like,” “you know,” “ah” and “ok” to bridge gaps in your speech. If the interview is in English and you are not entirely comfortable speaking English, relax and take your time and make sure the interviewer can understand you.NOT ASKING SMART, MEANINGFUL QUESTIONS
The interviewer is not the only person in a job interview who should ask questions. A terrific way to show interest in and knowledge about an organization is to ask a few of your own questions about the position or the employer’s business. Additionally, most people, interviewers included, enjoy sharing their thoughts and opinions. The more interactive an interview seems for both parties involved, the more enjoyable and, often, more memorable the experience can be.FAILING TO SHOWING PASSION FOR THE COMPANY OR ABOUT THE JOB OPPORTUNITY
Recruiters are often unpleasantly surprised when job candidates volunteer, “If hired, I’d just like to try this job for six months or so,” or “I don’t really know what I want to do, so I thought I would take a job like this one until I figure out my plans.” Such comments are ill-advised and that sort of a career planning approach, foolhardy. Make sure you are pursuing job positions you are enthused about and sincerely desire to hold and grow within for the foreseeable future. Even absent those sorts of comments, interviewers can usually sense when a job candidate’s interest in a job is not heartfelt.RIDICULING PAST EMPLOYERS, EXPERIENCES OR UNIVERSITIES
People with positive attitudes are almost always hired over negative people, and job candidates who openly ridicule their former employers are viewed as unprofessional. Positive lessons, skills and personal growth can be gleaned from even the most suboptimal experience and graciousness toward any former employer reflects well on you, the interviewee.FAILING TO MAKE EYE CONTACT
Failing to make consistent direct eye contact, looking down at the floor or scanning the room suggests to interviewers that you may have poor people skills, which can dramatically hurt your ability to get a job. Show your sincerity of purpose and attentiveness and forge an interpersonal connection with the interviewer. This connection starts with good posture, a firm handshake and direct eye contact. Remember to maintain this eye contact during the interview so as not to appear evasive or introverted. Such skills will also help you to collaborate with others in team environments.FAILING TO LISTEN
Interviewers often ask complicated questions to ensure that you can parse complex ideas and answer directly and concisely. It is entirely acceptable, when asked such a question, to pause to consider a question and to gather your thoughts before speaking. Be sure you understand the question before attempting to answer it and don’t be afraid to ask for clarification of the question before proceeding. Such consideration will reflect well on your ability to approach problems methodically and thoughtfully.FAILING TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL DETAIL
When asking technical questions or observing your problem-solving, interviewers hope to see and understand the process you employ while approaching and solving problems, not just to see if you can come up with the correct response. Be prepared to discuss your assumptions, different potential paths to a solution, and what led you to arrive at your ultimate solution in detail.When answering personal questions, be sure to give examples and stories from your past to illustrate and substantiate your point and, of course, to make yourself memorable. For example, when asked, “Do you like working in teams?” an insufficient answer would be, “Yes, I like working in teams.” A better response would be “Yes, I like working in teams, and one of the best team experiences I had was when…” with you then relating a succinct story stressing your suitability to and appreciation for team-based projects.
ACTING OVERLY GUARDED OR EVASIVE
Remember that recruiters and interviewers have seen and heard it all. Answering probing questions with generic or “safe” answers will usually result in failure. Recruiters have heard it all, and they’ve read all of the books providing scripted job interview responses, so it is better to speak from your heart and to be direct and unguarded.Be yourself. Don’t try to think of the “right” answer, but allow the interviewer to get to know you and convince them that you are the best person for the job. Every candidate is special. Every candidate can add value to a company. The trick is figuring out what makes you special and how you could add value to a specific company, then communicating those points.
TALKING TOO MUCH
While your primary role in an interview is to answer questions, it is absolutely critical to listen carefully to the interviewer and to try to determine what their questions are trying to discover about you. This will help you to be as succinct as possible and to engage and interest the interviewer in your responses.Being too long-winded or detailed in your responses, taking up the interviewer’s valuable time with talk of little consequence or relevance, or continuing straying off on conversational tangents will often cost you the interest, patience and empathy of your interviewer. Select and convey the points, details, and anecdotes most relevant to the question to which you are responding.
Additionally, be sure to let the interviewer talk and insert their comments. Try to make the interview more of a conversation than strictly a question-and-answer session. Lastly, never interrupt an interviewer when they are speaking.
DISCUSSING SALARY TOO EARLY
The focus of the interview for you should be the opportunity, the job and the work—not the money. If an interviewer asks you what salary you are interested in, politely defer salary discussions until you have a written offer.ACTING OVERLY NERVOUS
Everyone is at least a bit nervous when they are interviewed. That response is entirely normal. It, however, can become a problem if your ill ease takes control, resulting in poor performance within the interview.That is why preparing for interviews is so important. When you feel prepared and ready, you are more likely to relax and to conduct yourself with ease and grace. Nervous energy often prevents you from revealing your best qualities, so dedicate a significant amount of time to preparation. Then relax, secure in the conviction that you will perform well.
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