Top 12 common mistakes in job interview 1. Arriving late First impression is a crucial element in business environment and in an interview for a job, it is much more important. Everyone knows that, and everyone also knows that a negative first impression can decide your failure in the job interview. Being late at your interview suggest not only that you have poor time management skills but also that you have no or little respect for the company and the position you are applying for. So, make sure you must go early to get to the interview location soon. Consider your time and the path to the location carefully so that you can foresee any sudden problem on the way and have enough time to deal with them to be able to get to the interview on time. 2. Poorly dressing It is crucially important that you must look professional and polished for an interview meeting. Make sure your attire and outfit are suitable to the positions you are applying for. You should wear a casual outfit for a non-professional job and formal suit for a professional position. No matter how big the company your are targeting is, your appearance must be well manner and good looking. 3. No preparation You are asked a question, e.g. “What do you know about this company”, and you are unable to answer it. That is a sure way to end your chance of getting the job. Company information that you should research about includes its history, location, divisions, mission and vision. If there is a company website, you can find such information in “About Us” section. That is an easy way to get info but essential for the interview. 4. Poor communication skills If you don’t know how to communicate appropriately with the person in front of you, that is a crucial weakness. You must know how to positively and actively communicate with the interviewer. You must know how to properly shake hand, make eye contact, demonstrate your confidence, and engage in speech with them. Good communication skills will make you an excellent candidate for this position even if you haven’t started the interview yet. A recent candidate for a position fails to get the job for his phone rang during the interview and he answered it. That is a poor behavior at an interview, so you should leave the phone behind or turn it off during your interview. Also, you shouldn’t bring other belongings coffee, food, etc. other than the CV, application form, and all job-related documents only. 5. Know about the company but cannot answer about personal background Most job seekers pay too much attention to know about the background of the company to be able to answer interview questions that they forget about their own details. Personal knowledge, qualification, education, experience, and background are things you must clearly know more than anyone. It is also useful to prepare a list of achievements so that you can easily refer to answer questions on your past experience. Make notes of your experience and skills that may be useful for your interview. 6. Have no question to ask The last part of any interview is when the candidate is required to ask questions if they may have. If you have no question to ask, it may be the evidence of your poor preparation. This is when you score more points with the questions you ask the interviewers, and they like to answer them, too. So, make sure to prepare a list of 5 questions, for example “can you tell me about your career?” everyone loves to talk about themselves, so it is wise to ask such a question. 7. Over talkative Interviewers will not like someone who talks too much. It will cost their time and distract them from main points. So a talkative candidate may easily fail. You don’t need to tell a long story of your past experience or career. Just keep it concise, correct and to-the-point. That way scores you more point than lengthy answer. 8. Little word You may be a bit shy to talk in an interview, but that is a negative behavior that you should avoid. Interviewers don’t like talkative ones, but shy and little-word guys even make them feel more terrible. I remember my friend who is a HR manager that he had to warn and get the word out of a candidate. And he said it was a terrible experience. 9. Make weaknesses positive “What are your weaknesses” is a common question during an interview. Someone may give you an advice that you should answer “I am a perfectionist” or “I have no weakness”, but that advice fails you for sure. Interviewers may have heard such answers thousands of times, and it is like a formal answer that an amateur may try to use. The best tactic here is to highlight your weaknesses, no use to hide or avoid it, and highlight the measures and actions you have taken to resolve such weaknesses. That is the true motive of the interviewers to ask this question. 10. Give a wrong answer During an interview you have to make sure that you are attentive enough to listen to correct questions and think twice before answering. Giving a wrong answer is a fatal mistake. Here is an example: the interviewer explained the tasks of a sales and marketing position to the candidate. And she focused on the point that experience, skills and qualifications in relevant fields were required for this position. And you gave her an answer that you didn’t possess any related skill or had never done similar job in the past, or that you didn’t like doing things such as “calling customers”; such an answer will fail you for sure. 11. Talking bad behind your old boss If you say that your previous boss is a bad one or your previous colleagues treat you poorly, it is sure that your chance of getting the job is gone. Don’t say bad things about a boss in front of a potential “boss”. Perhaps they don’t like it, or perhaps they, companies, may have relationships that you don’t know about. And talking bad like that will surely lose you the job. The world may be smaller than you think and you may not know who the interviewer might know. You say other is an idiot but that other person may be a familiar person of the interviewer in front of you. So bad-mouthing is never a good behavior of candidates. 12. No follow-up Your interview doesn’t go as well as you expected, or you know that you have made a poor impression or made a wrong answer. All those things will not cost you the whole opportunity to get the job but the fact that you don’t carry out follow up after the interview is. A thank-you letter is always a good stuff to do after the interview as it shows that you are still interested in the Company. Don’t be so depressed if the interview doesn’t go as you expected. If it happens, just keep following the procedures and don’t forget to send a thank-you note to the interviewer. And also learn from your mistakes and failure, that is how you can succeed.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 10:10:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015