7 Most Common Job Interview Mistakes And What To Do Instead

We’ve all made mistakes. We make them all the time but in a job interview, that one mistake may spell the end of you as a candidate for that particular role. All of them are obvious and all of them are avoidable - however, some often fall under the radar. Here is some advice on how to avoid them and, in turn, avoid potentially scuppering your prospects as a candidate:

1. Making unsubstantiated claims. By this, I mean self-styling yourself as a leader, proactive, an achiever or passionate. I often see these claims in the CVs and LinkedIn Profiles I read as a career coach and previously as a headhunter. Don’t claim but demonstrate. So if you are passionate about your subject, point to the qualifications that you have earned and speak passionately. Rather than claim to be a leader, give an example of how you put together a team, got enthusiastic buy-in for the achievement of a compelling vision, and got over the line in a team effort.
2. Saying that you will do anything. This shows a level of neediness and desperation which does not make you attractive as a candidate. It implies that you too readily available and that you don’t particularly value the skills, experience and qualifications that you bring to the firm. Instead, be very clear about what the job that you want and that your interest is based on the fact it is the most effective way that you can add value. If the job you are interviewing for falls short or is not an ideal fit, then this is not the role for you: No problem - move on.
3. Wrest control from the interviewer. Some over-zealous candidates may mistakenly seek to display leadership by trying to take control of the interview. It is not your interview. It is not your train set. The interviewee must go with the flow and let the interviewer drive the flow of the conversation. If you try to take over, it is just annoying and ill-judged. You can influence the course of the interview - principally by asking great questions but my advice would be to go with it.
4. Displaying ignorance about the firm and the job. It will absolutely not serve you well if you ask questions that betray that you have not done your homework. It will indicate that you are slapdash in your preparation and this lack of thoroughness and attention to detail will show you to be a weak candidate. Do the work and prepare questions about the firm that will enable you to gauge information or opinions that are not in the public domain and which (gently) display your knowledge.
5. Don’t tell them where they are going wrong or how to run their business. We want to solve problems and we want to make things better. The danger of doing a great job at research is that ideas for improving the business may come to mind. However, no one wants to be told that they are wrong. No one wants to have their errors pointed out them. In addition, you weren’t there when the decisions were being made and although you may have done great research, you may not understand all the factors that the leadership team was wrestling with. This mistake often comes when the candidate is on a roll and stems from misplaced enthusiasm. Exercise judgement and caution.
6. Talking negatively about previous colleagues, jobs and firms. This is so obvious that I almost decided not to include it, but I bet some professional is doing exactly this in a job interview somewhere in the world right now. The gateway trap to this mistake is being asked about why you would be prepared to move. The candidate will often mistakenly think that there needs to be a push from the old firm, as well as a pull from a future opportunity. Not necessarily so. Even if that is the case, avoid the negative and focus on the positive.
7. Don’t shape-shift. I once debriefed a candidate after she had gone for an interview. She was highly competent and very, very competitive. To her, interview success meant getting the job. It became clear that she had been so keen to ‘win’ that she had tried to re-shape herself to the role that she was being interviewed for. Let me be clear. She was not being dishonest in any way, but she was prepared to consider the role which was a lower level than her current pay grade, and she was stretching to show how her skill-set could be re-purposed to match a different skill-set. Instead, it would have been much more impressive to have really understood the requirements of the role, explored the fit (or lack thereof) and said to the interviewer: “I have a great set of skills which would add significant value to your business, but not in this role. I am just not a fit for this position, but let me know if there is anything else that you are looking for.” Quite apart from anything else, the confidence displayed by a candidate who had this mindset would have increased her perceived value markedly.

I hope that you find these ideas interesting and, as ever, we welcome comments, shares and likes.