I recently attended a seminar and networking event for Career Professionals. This was a great opportunity for me to learn and share some new job search techniques with my peers.
One of the icebreakers involved us sharing a bad interview experience.
The one interview that I had that really sticks in my mind was actually my first interview for an internship.
It didn’t exactly go badly but I did everything wrong! I didn’t do any research on the company or the position partly because I wasn’t really interested in the job but was put forward for it by the University, and partly because at that time I didn’t know that I needed to! I did turn up on time and appropriately dressed but I spent most of the time looking out of the window and I didn’t ask any questions at the end.
In hindsight, if the interviewer had any sense, he would have ended the interview and asked me to leave rather than waste his time; instead he offered me the job!
After hearing some interesting interview stories from the others, I thought I’d share the 3 big interview mistakes that you really must avoid making:
- Not doing your homework to find out as much as possible about the company, the industry it is in, and the job you are applying for.
- Not being able to communicate the value you can add to the position and company. This means knowing your skills, strengths and achievements and being able to communicate them confidently.
- Not having several intelligent questions to ask the interviewer about the job and the company; questions that demonstrate your true interest in the job. These must be questions that you can’t find the answers for on the company website or marketing material.
If you have an interview coming up, and would like help preparing, contact Anne to find out how she can help.
