Job Interview Mistakes

It’s an unfortunate fact of life these days – many good people are unemployed. Not having a job is a scary thing. When you do have the chance to interview for a new job you will most likely be nervous, scared, anxious or in some cases desperate. With so much riding on you landing this new position you will want to take care to not make any mistakes in the interview process.

Here are some of the more common mistakes that people make during an interview and some suggestions for how you can avoid making these interviewing mistakes.

Overall bad manners. Your parents were right – manners matter. From the moment you walk in the door of your interview you’ll want to be on your best behavior. Greet the people you meet pleasantly and politely. Where I used to work we would always ask the receptionist how she was treated by a potential new hire. Other ways you can make these type of interview mistakes include arriving too early or late for an interview, keeping your cell phone ringer on (or perhaps even answering the phone during the interview), chewing gum or bringing food or drink into the interview, and not standing up when you meet someone.

Inappropriate dress and appearance. I know standards have changed in dress these days but that doesn’t mean you don’t put on your best clothes when you go to an interview. You want to give the impression that you care enough about this interview that you went the extra mile to get ready for it. If you are a guy then nice slacks or khaki pants, a dress shirt, and depending on the type of job a tie and/or suit jacket. For women a nice skirt and blouse (but the skirt should be no shorter than at the knees) or a conservative dress is appropriate. Don’t go crazy with your hairstyle and accessories. If you have body piercings you might want to consider removing them for the interview, and if you have tattoos try to wear clothing that would cover them. Many potential employers would not hold these against you in an interview, but you never know who you will be speaking to at the interview. Someone might find these offensive so it’s best to play it conservative.

You don’t need to be wearing the most expensive clothes in the store, but what you do wear should be freshly laundered or dry cleaned, ironed and free of rips and tears. A potential employer will not be expecting you to go out and buy a new outfit for an interview but he or she will be expecting to see someone who is clean and well put together.

Not preparing for the interview. In this information age it is not acceptable to go into an interview knowing nothing about the company. This is one of the biggest interview mistakes you can make. Go to the company’s website and read about the company. Find out how long it has been in business and how many locations and employees they have. Websites like Hoovers will give you the opportunity to see research on larger companies in an easy to understand form. If you can’t find the company’s website call the switchboard and ask them if they have a website.

If you aren’t ready to answer the common interview questions then you are making another big interview mistake. All you need to do is Google “interview questions” and you’ll find lots of websites that give some examples of the types of questions you will be asked and some ways you can answer them. If you have been out of work for a while then you’ll need to be prepared to explain the gap in your resume.

Asking about money or benefits. If you have been out of work for a while then money and benefits are going to be super important to you. You could be really tempted to ask about the salary and benefits. If you come right out and ask how much you are going to be paid the person interviewing you might see you as only being interested in the money and not the career or the company. As hard as it might be, don’t come out and ask about salary. If the interviewer brings it up, that is a different story. Don’t be the first one to bring up this topic in the interview.

Not appearing interested in the job. It is important that you convey your interest and enthusiasm for the position to the interviewer. You can do this in a few ways. First, have some questions prepared ahead of time. This is where all your company research comes in handy. For example, if you were unable to find out how long the company was in business on their website you can ask something like “I was on your website and read that you have four locations, but I didn’t find when the company was started. How long has the company been in business?”

You can also communicate your interest in the job by coming right out and telling the interviewer that you are interested. You might say something like “I really liked what I learned about this position and your company today. I think I could be an asset to XYZ Company.” Not expressing your interest in the position (or in other words, asking for the job) is a major interview mistake.

The interviewing process can be a bit unsettling. With some preparation you can hopefully avoid the interview mistakes listed in this article.