Things to Avoid in an interview OR Common interview mistakes

While we gear up for our upcoming interview and start figuring out things we should do, how about a “Not to-do list” which will help you master the interview and give you an edge over other candidates?

The interview is a very important conversation, so knowing what to speak or what NOT to speak is very crucial to determine the chances of you getting shortlisted for the position.?

So here are a few very common yet critical mistakes I have encountered while interviewing the candidates. While the candidates had good technical ability to perform the job, they still didn’t make it, do you want to know the reasons? here you go.?

1.????Never Bad mouth about the Organization, People, Manager, Culture, or Process.?

Don’t talk anything bad about your current or previous organization in any capacity no matter what. Even though you are provoked to. ?

Never say I don’t like working in that company or in the team?

I hate the culture there?

My boss is very unreasonable to me, etc. ?

This is one very important thing to remember in your interview.?

It doesn’t mean you are not allowed to be honest, but it may look like you have complaints and you hold grudges, and that’s a very negative signal to give to your potential employer. ?Because If you do so, the interviewer will think that in No time you will have complaints and grudges about your new employer and new position and you will find reasons not to be happy, and if you have no reasons to be happy, you have no motivation to solve a problem or overcome a challenge in your work environment. If you have had challenges getting along with people, you will have similar challenges again. ?

So what to do? ?

Always say – Yes, I like my job, I love working in that organization, that company has offered me so many learning opportunities.

Say that you like your boss, as he always puts you in challenging situations and this made you stronger and a better person. ?

Remember, tuff situations or tuff challenges make you a stronger person, so if any organization or a team has given you tuff time, it automatically means you know how to handle a similar situation again and you have enough reasons to appreciate your next job, you will appreciate your past as now you know how to handle the situation better.?

No matter how it comes up in the interview conversation – Never Bad mouth your current or previous employer.

2.????Never talk negatively about yourself.?

Don’t bring up in the conversation the things like,

I don’t get along with people very easily.

Don’t say I hate doing reports

I don’t like to be micro-managed by my manager

Don’t say I struggle under pressure, etc.?

Remember an interview is more likely a conversation where you are doing a sales pitch for your candidature, your skills, and abilities. You have to sell yourself as a potential employee, you are the person who is going to solve the problems for the organization, Now, if you don’t believe in your potential, how do you expect the interviewer to believe that you are a potential employee. ?

We all have areas we need to get better at, but don’t be foolish to bring it out upfront by yourself. There are ways to put it across in a manner that doesn’t hamper your chances of getting shortlisted. Also, you need to understand that if you are not good at some time, you can’t remain unchanged about it, you have to eventually get better at it. SO better get started and take the opportunity to express what is that you are doing to get better in that area.?

3.????Don’t cook stories to impress the interviewer, be authentic.?

It so happens that in order to impress the interviewer, the candidates make up stories or make up a few situations that are not really true. Or they quote the success stories or examples borrowed from their colleagues, friends, or even their previous managers. ?

Now why you shouldn’t make up stories is because of 2 major reasons,?

Reason 1: If you make up a story that is not yours, you will always have fear of being questioned in an area where you are not fully prepared for the conversation or to answer the linked questions or following questions. This means that because this is not your story you are trying to be someone else, and when you are trying to be someone else, you are not the best of yourself and there are high chances that you might end up giving that hint to the interviewers that you are making up a story. Interviewers are smart people too, they will understand this and if they do, you have given enough reasons to not consider you as a potential candidate.?

Reason 2: Let’s say you still managed to convey your made-up story to the interviewer successfully and he buys it, this is still not you, Isn’t it? ?First of all, you are not honest to the employer and to yourself and you are starting your new job on the basis of dishonesty. Then let’s say you encounter a similar situation in your new job, and during your interview so mentioned that you solved that particular problem with a lot of convection, but in reality, you didn’t. You will naturally fail or provide a half-baked solution. Your employer/interviewer will know that you lied during the interview and that is something you don’t want your employer or manager to feel about you. This may put your potential growth in jeopardy. ?

4.????Don’t sound desperate in the interview:?

I have noticed this in the interviews that the candidates are too desperate to secure the position they say that they will do any job given. I understand getting a job is an important event in our life, but that doesn’t mean you will degrade yourself to secure the job, right?

You might be desperate, but you should never be upfront about it. ??

Let’s say you are applying for a position of a management trainee in the HR department of an organization, you should not say that ‘I am ready to do any job you offer me in your department and as I just need exposure’. ?

You need to value and respect your interest first before the employer does, you need to be specific about what you love to learn and how your interests can add value to the organization and your personal growth. You need to mean what you say, this shows that you are serious about procuring the position and you really value the learning you will get from that job. Its states that you are not here to just get the job to fill the gap in your life. You need to hold your values and beliefs up high, this will naturally be seen in your personality and during your conversation. ?

Imagine you are an interviewer and there are 2 candidates, one who is ready to do any job given to him, and the other is someone who has applied with intention of learning and excelling in that particular field and has respect for his interest, whom do you think the interviewer will shortlist. ?

But this doesn’t mean you have to be very strict about this and not be flexible, because most of the times' job requirement has a mixture of roles, you should be ready to explore unchartered territories too, do not sound stubborn you need to be flexible and that is a great quality to showcase during your interview.?

5.????Don’t be close-ended while expressing your skills. ?

What I mean by not being close-ended is, when you are asked about your skills or the things you are good at. Don’t give one-liners, for example, don’t just say :?

I am good at multitasking?

I am a deadline-oriented person?

I am good with people or I am a good team player?

I am a good leader ?

I am a quick learner etc ?

Instead, give them context to the skills you are highlighting. Give an example or quote a situation from your previous job explaining how you solved a particular problem by using the skill you are naturally good at. Let that example prove that you are good at that skill instead of just stating that you are good at something.?

6.????Never ask - what is your company into or what is the business??

I have seen candidates asking the interviewers about the organization’s business or what does the company do? And almost every time candidates who have asked this question ended up being rejected in the interview process.?

Failing to research the organization or not knowing what is the business of the organization is a massive red flag against a candidate’s motivation. You need to do your homework and study the organization before you appear for an interview. Visit the company website and study the history, the business, its growth, and its journey. Know who is the CEO and visit his LinkedIn profile, make note of a few things you liked about it the company and take the liberty to bring that up during the conversation. This shows that you have an interest in the organization and you have been preparing for this interview, this exercise has a very high potential of cracking the interview.?

7.????Don’t discuss salary at the beginning of the conversation?

I have often seen that candidates tend to discuss or bring up a question about how much salary will they be offered at the beginning of the interview. Try not to bring this up unless prompted, in most cases when the recruiter connects with you for a potential job opportunity you have a chance to set your salary expectations, but if not, then try not to bring it up by yourself. Employers will eventually ask you if they feel you are a worthy candidate.?

The reason why you shouldn’t bring up the salary piece, in the beginning, is because this can be an indication that your real motivation is money and that may not really work in your favor. ?

Always talk about what value will you bring to the organization, and what problems can you solve for the organization. If you are able to convince them about the value you bring is worth the salary you demand, they will offer you the salary, but again be realistic with your salary expectations.?

Now, what if you are prompted to talk about salary expectations in the beginning by the interviewer? ?

Well, in that case, you can give a realistic expectation which is reasonable too. (read my article on “how much salary do you expect” for a detailed understanding https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-much-salary-do-you-expect-vishal-chinchure/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_post_details%3B%2FTQKDltHRF2mSG14t953BQ%3D%3D )?

Now, you may want to consider this suggestion:?

When talking about the salary?- Don’t make it personal, what I mean by not making it personal is, don’t say that you need x amount as your salary because you have a home loan to pay, you have a child and you need money to admit him to the best school, etc. Try not to link your financial commitments to the salary you expect, because the organizations will pay you for what you are worthy of and not your expenses. ?

8.????Jack of all trades.?

Don’t try to be Jack of all trades in the interview, what I mean by that is avoid saying you are good at everything, that’s not really true, it’s not possible to be best at everything. Before you attend an interview, you need to know the areas you are good at and the areas you need to get better at, be honest with yourself while making the list.?

Never say, I am good at everything, now while you know the areas of improvement, be honest about it and convey that to your interviewer if prompted, they will appreciate it and they know it’s not possible to be the best at everything, but you have to be smart, you just can’t state that you are not good at something and stop there, tell them what are you are doing to getter better and develop yourself in that area, especially when the job requires to you to have that skill even remotely.?

9.????Not having any questions to ask the interviewer ?

Not having any questions to ask your interviewer will make your candidature weak, even though you might have the good technical expertise and skills required to do the job. I can’t stress enough that any interview is a two-way conversation between employer and employee, you need to have questions to ask your potential employer because this is the place where you will spend a lot of time, maybe for several months or the next few years. Not just as a part of good interviewing techniques, but this should be natural, wouldn’t you want to know about growth opportunities, learning opportunities, people you will work with, its culture etc.?

But again, you need to be smart about what you ask, don’t ask questions just for the sake of asking, ask really smart questions. Asking questions shows that you are interested and seriously invested in securing the job.

Please refer my article “Do you have any questions for me?” for a detailed understanding

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/do-you-have-any-questions-me-vishal-chinchure/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_post_details%3B%2FTQKDltHRF2mSG14t953BQ%3D%3D ?

10.?Don’t ask undesirable questions?

While we agreed that asking questions to your interviewer is a very important interview technique, it is even more important that you ask the right questions, because asking wrong questions is more harmful than not asking any questions.?

What this means is, don’t ask questions that will force the interviewer to make a judgment about your candidature. For example, don’t ask questions like?

a.?????Will there be a lot of workload or work pressure?

b.????Am I expected to always work with a team because I like to work individually on my own?

c.?????Will I be micro-managed because I don’t like being managed? I need my freedom

d.????I am not very good with young team members, can I be aligned with senior members of the team??

Etc.?

This means you need to avoid asking questions that may give an indication to the interviewer feel that you may not be comfortable in any of these areas – Organisation, Culture, People or Process.?

11.?Being Late to the interview. ?

I have stressed so much on the importance of the first impression during the interview process. Being late to an interview is big hammer damage to your first impression. Do everything in your capacity to make sure that you are available and present the interview or interview-related discussion at least 15 – 20 mins in advance, whether it is a face-to-face or virtual interview. Plan the day of the interview with a grace time for each activity, right from the time to wake up in the morning, to the time to reach the interview venue.?

12.?Don’t be casually dressed.?

Another important part of your first impression, isn’t it? Imagine you are a candidate and you are nicely dressed for your interview. You took out time to iron your shirt, borrowed a bold colour tie from a friend, got your Jacket dry cleaned, and groomed yourself to glory. Now you are ready and confident for your conversation with a mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness. ?

You entered the reception lobby and you see there are around 15 more candidates who are lined up for the interview and you are among those 2 candidates who are nicely dressed, now 2 things will happen in this situation, number 1 - your confidence will be shot up because you are visually different and you stand out in the crowd. ?

Second, The interviewer will see you appropriately dressed and subconsciously make a judgment about you that you are serious about this job which has given you an edge over other candidates. ?

Dressing up nicely takes effort and time, interviewers appreciate the efforts you have taken, moreover, when you look nice, you feel confident, when you feel confident you participate better when you participate better you will perform better.?

So next time when you have an interview coming up , try to make this “Not To-do List”

Hope this helps, thank you.