The best way to avoid the most common interview mistakes is to think ahead and decide not to make them… But what can you do if you’re already there? Read on!
But what are the common mistakes?
- Lying
- Slating your current company or boss
- Being rude
- Complaining
- Talking about people you argue with at work
- Not being prepared
- Appearing to be too nervous, or too confident
- Making a weak first impression
- Not having researched the company
1. Lying
Just don’t! By all means, don’t draw attention to things you don’t want to cover, but outright lying NEVER pays.
As Mark Twain, an American writer said: “If you tell the truth, you never have to remember anything.”
Think about it.
They will catch you out, sooner or later.
2. Slating your current company or boss
On your answers listening, the interviewer thinking and imagining what it would be like to work with you.
Ask yourself: are you really want to work with people who constantly criticize others?
The trouble is that from your answers the interviewer draws solid conclusions. So your thinking about your boss or company may be interpreted to be your “standard” way of thinking.
It makes you down, not your employer.
3. Being Rude
Don’t do it!
If you find you were mistaken rude, then apologize calmly and genuinely. Then leave it and stay on with the rest of the interview discussion. If you think about it, it will affect your interview performance.
What’s “rude”? Well, that depends on your audience. As a rule of thumb, avoid non-sense jokes about potentially sensitive topics and beware of being too “buddy-buddy” with the interviewer: polite and friendly is enough. After all, you’re not (probably!) at the party with them. So stay professional.
4. Complaining
Don’t complain about your problems, Interviewer doesn’t want to expect this. Give them an answer like you how you sort out the problem or how you tackle this issue. Give them one or two examples of technical or non-technical issues.
Complaining, even in-jokes is not recommended. It may take a negative impact on your interview, or it might simply make the interviewer switch off. So Don’t let complaining and tell the positive side over the complaint.
5. Talking about people you argue with at work
These days, it’s becoming common to ask you how you deal with conflict. Companies know the importance of co-working relationships in the working environment.
So if they ask you to give one example, make sure to give the right example where how you solve a clash between colleagues or in the project team. And if you wrong in argues just apologize and explain what you really meant. (Make a cheat sheet of various examples.)
