3 Interview mistakes you must avoid making

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On Monday, I was helping a client to finalise her CV and cover letter which we were tailoring for a specific job she was applying for. Having sent it via email to the company later the same day, she called me on Tuesday evening, really excited, to say that they had called her to arrange an interview!

This was fantastic news but did you know that people make more mistakes during an interview than they do in any other part of their job search and of course the consequences of making mistakes in an interview is that you don’t get offered the job!

Here are my top 3 interview mistakes you must avoid making:

Not appreciating that the interviewer may be as nervous as you!

They may well be stressed at having to make a critical hiring decision; getting it wrong is one of the biggest mistakes a hiring manager can make due to the amount of time and costs involved.  This may be the reason why you have to go through several interviews with different people – the blame doesn’t rest with one person! And of course, sometimes, the hiring manager may not have had sufficient interview training.

A survey by Monster.co.uk showed that 28% of interviewers admitted to going in to an interview unprepared, some even admitted to forgetting that the even had an interview!

Make it easy for the interviewer by being prepared; know as much as possible about the company and the job you are being interviewed for.

Remember that hiring managers hire solutions to problems so know the problem and be the solution.

Focusing too much on interview questions and therefore not selling yourself powerfully.

This one may surprise you but many candidates actually spend too much time figuring out how to answer questions rather instead of preparing to actively sell themselves in interviews. In fact, the most Googled topic for job interviews is “interview questions” and if you have ever Googled “interview questions” you will see just how many there are – you cannot prepare answers for them all.

Instead, think of the specific questions you would ask if you were the hiring manager and then prepare your answers to them in a way that really sells you.  Your challenge here is to figure out just what problem the company wants to solve by filling this position and what the benefits of solving this problem are before showing that the skills and features you have to offer are central to achieving these benefits.

Asking poor, or even worse no, questions.

When asked if you have any questions, never say that all your questions have been answered as this demonstrates a lack of interest in the job. It is far better to go into an interview with some really strong questions t and to ask as this shows that not only have you prepared for the interview, but that you know about the job and the company and have the knowledge and skills to ask good intuitive questions. Asking good questions can really sway a recruiters hiring decision and is critical for interview success.

If you struggle with interviews, contact me to find out more about how I can help.

ABOUT ME


I am a Certified Advanced Resume Writer, Employment Interview Consultant, and Career Coach and it is my aim to help ambitious and motivated people like you become fully empowered to get the job you want.