You saw a vacation that sounds interesting to you. Then you applied. A week later, you get a call: an invitation to the interview. Whew! How exciting to finally have a real appointment to try the job of your dreams! Your friends are excited, and your parents can’t wait for you to finally get a job and stand on your feet. You are already dreaming about the dream job.
But hold on, you still have an important meeting with your future employer to go through.
When you sign up for a new website, you are supposed to read and agree to some privacy terms and conditions. Some of them might be super lengthy and they end up having a ‘Get More Info’ link. How many of us tend to read those? Almost no one actually! Then issues arise and we don’t know how to deal with them. The same can happen to us at the peak of establishing our careers.
When you are invited to an interview, the foremost thing you would want to do is deal with the excitement and commence worthy preparation. Sometimes, a person’s resume is not enough to let employers understand their personality and skills. Most employers prefer to see the applicant in person and assess if the person on paper is real.
In the course of preparing for an interview, there are certain errors you should try to avoid. Such errors can cost you the opportunity of securing the desired job.
Lack of eye contact
Now, I know you might be shy, but the dialogue room isn’t the best place to show this trait. Not making eye contact is a turn off for employers even if you are providing great answers to interview questions.
Not managing time
You didn’t manage to count how much time do you need to get to the place of the interview and turned up ten minutes late? That’s an open statement to the interviewers that you do not value your time, and their time is even much less valuable for you. Be sure to appear early for your appointment.
Talking bad about your previous workplace
That’s not going to work in your favor. It is actually a mistake that will cost you this job and probably will lead to the same outcome in the other interviews. You may seem childish so never talk bad about your previous employer, even if there are a lot of unfair things you can remember.
Improper clothing
Please, remember: you are going to an interview, not a lunch out or a walk in the park. Your choice of clothes speaks volumes about your personality. It would also tell your prospective boss whether you can adhere to the dress code in the company or not.
Fiddling with your phone
This is a very common mistake. Half of the time people are always fiddling with their smartphones. But if you are serious about getting a job, it’s best to keep your fiddling tendencies outside of the interview door. Playing with your phone when answering interview questions is a sign of total disrespect to the people conducting the dialogue. It may also highlight your inability to focus on one task at a time.
Lack of preparation
Even if this isn’t your first appointment, it doesn’t hurt to prepare a bit on how to answer job interview questions. We tend to learn new things or see them in a different light after going through old information. No job appointment is the same. Search for helpful articles to think about your manner of speech and attitude among other things.
Lying
Okay, this is quite dangerous. The reason is that if you lie in your resume or during a dialogue with prospective bosses, you would have to keep up with these lies. Doing that is stressful and very risky. Every manager wants a worker they can trust no matter what the situation is. You have barely gotten a place and you are already twisting the truth – who knows whether you can be trusted if you get the job? The dangerous path, guys.
Using elite phrases
While it’s a great thing to be self-confident, trying to keep it inside might help you more than you know during an interview. Instead of saying outright that you are a perfectionist or you are the best in your field, you can say that you like to put the effort into everything you do to make sure that it ends up perfect. Cliché phrases can be a turn-off for some managers.
Blabbing
When you are asked questions, evaluate them. If they require a “yes or no” answer, try to adhere to it. If they require one direct answer, give it. Don’t talk a lot in an attempt to impress; you will end up doing the exact opposite.