Whether it’s online or face-to-face, interviews are always giving us a thrill if we really want the job. That’s why you can find a countless number of articles online that tells you what to do and what not to do. This will be one of them but the advice you’ll find here is coming here from our recruiters. Who can explain to your interview mistakes and how to avoid them better than a team of expert recruiters?
If you’re a last-minute researcher and running out of time, take a deep breath and in a very simple way: make sure you have a good internet connection; find a quiet environment; have your own timer; manage your stress thanks to breathing exercises or whatever works for you; don’t panic if you don’t know everything, put your phone on silent mode to avoid distractions and most importantly DO NOT CHEAT as Google is not always your best friend and companies know when somebody cheated!
Let’s assume that you have your time to dig into the interview mistake, then you’ll find your answers here. We observe that many candidates often do these mistakes both while we are interviewing them and when they have their interviews with the companies we hire for. If you want to land that job of your dreams, be sure that you don’t lose your chance because of these common mistakes!
Here are the common job interview mistakes you often make and how not to:
Not Respecting Schedule and Having Connection Problems
Simple but easy. Take that phone or video call you scheduled with your interviewer or don’t be late for your face-to-face interview. Being late for the interview is not cool if you don’t have a nice excuse. If possible, try to make a test run to check if you’re going to be late or not and reschedule if necessary.
We’re living in a digital world which means many of your interviews will be held online. Failing to have a good connection or to ask if the connection is clear at the beginning of the interview is crucial. Try to avoid technical difficulties that can harm your interview. No one wants to have an interview where you constantly ask “sorry, can you repeat, please? I couldn’t hear you”.
Not Scheduling the Interview Time and Settings Well
This is something else we experience a lot. While most of us enjoying home-office currently, how we look at the home and our background surroundings became very important to settle. No one expects you to wear a nice pant and a shiny pair of shoes at home but looking professional is still a key to show your respect for the interview. Having bad posture, being too close to or too far from the camera and lighting conditions (what’s the point of having a video call if you’re just a shadow?) are other elements you need to be careful while you’re having your online interview.
Even though we schedule our interviews in advance we’ve seen candidates coming up with sentences like “I have to finish the call, sorry, I have this thing to do”. Of course, there might be unexpected circumstances anytime and as long as you provide a nice excuse there’s nothing to worry about. However, make sure that you free yourself for an hour even if your interview is going to take only half an hour. Not onlyunexpected situationsbut we also see candidates scheduling their interviews while they’re driving (based on a true story), commuting, shopping and even at the beach. The background noise, inattentive listening while focused on something else not having anything to take a note on are the negative effects of not scheduling the interview well.
Not Having a Clue
It may sound simpler than you think but let’s make it clear, having no idea about the job that you are having an interview for is deadly for your future chance for the opportunity. We come across many interviewers who applied for countless jobs, lost track of them completely and ended up not having any idea for which position they have an interview for. To have candidates with no clue about the job, showing they haven’t read the job description at all and plus saying “I’m just looking for any job” or “I’ll find something better after a few months” does not make our job easy.
Not Being Prepared
Even if you know which job you applied for, it might not be enough to handle the interview. Make sure you know the job description, the given requirements for the position and of course, the person you’re going to have your interview with. If the company name is available, do your research about the company culture as well. Have yourCVand cover letter aside to back you up if you feel nervous and forget your points. Don’t forget to make some exercises by checking out how to answer questions like“tell me about yourself”and “why should we hire you?”. Prepare your answers beforehand.
Not Having a Clear and Appropriate Language
You should remember that the words coming out of your mouth is everything during an interview. Therefore, you should be careful to speak slowly and clearly to make sure that your words are understood while you try to sell yourself. The same applies to the interviewer of course if there’s any moment that you don’t understand whether it’s a technical problem, language barrier or any other circumstance you should make it clear and be sure that the communication you build is not distracted by an external situation. Most importantly, never forget that you’re in a professional interview so using slang as a part of your daily language may not be appropriate for this case.
Not Being Confident at All or Being Too Confident
Doesn’t matter if it’s a face-to-face interview or an online one, you might feel nervousand lose your self-confidence but try to keep it cool. If you already know that you are a match for the job description and the requirements, you’ve nothing else to worry about. Of course, recruiters and employers prefer people who are confident enough to make a clear communication but this is something that everyone can do and should in a business environment. That’s why be sure that you don’t show the most nervous side of yourself during the interview and stay professional.
We said we want candidates who are confident enough, let’s make it clear. If you have a very laid back attitude, not even getting being ready for the typical interview questions just because you think that you don’t have anything to learn, we might have a problem. Your over-confidence may raise suspicions about your ability to improve yourself within the company and further internal communication with your colleagues. If you start your career journey with underestimating the recruiter or the company interviewer you talk with, you may be on a path of self-sabotage. Don’t over-compliment your skills and don’t over-promise for your future contributions if you can’t support it with your background.
Not Staying Focussed and Not Listening to the Interviewer
You don’t do other things while you’re having your interviews, do you? Because we see it all the time. Candidates sometimes do other things while talking to us, such as answering their e-mails or maybe searching online (whatever it is we hear the keyboard clicks). Sometimes we have interviews when people are in a crowded place and talk to other people in between lines. Just don’t do other things if this interview means anything to you. Try to avoid things that might distract you from listening to your interviewer.
Give your interviewer your full attention and listen to what they say. If you constantly talk over them they might think that you’re not a good listener which is always a bad sign. In addition, just small advice, we also understand if you just watch yourself over a video call, it really makes us feel invisible. Just be comfortable and create a true communication.
Appearing Uninterested
That’s normal if you’re not a super joyful and enthusiastic character. We cannot expect you to be excited all the time, however, we would like to know your interest in the position you’re applying for. Try to keep your act professional in this one as well and regardless of your moody character try to sound excited about the job offer or just let us know about your character. In the end, if the company culture requires you to be smiley all the time, maybe they’re not the best option for you.
Don’t forget that it’s not just about your mood but also your actions. If you act uninterested by taking all the time in the world to write back to your recruiter’s emails how can you expect them to keep the interest in hiring you forever? Doing your research, keeping a high mood, listening to your recruiter and asking smart questions will show your respect and interest in the offer.
Being Too Talkative
An important virtuous behaviour in an interview is definitely knowing when to keep quiet. We want to know you, be talkative about your background and your preferences but this interview is not just about you talking. Some candidates may think that talking too much will show strength But controlling the conversation is definitely not expected from you and doesn’t necessarily show your “leadership” skills.
No need to give too much information, if the interviewer wants to learn more about you, they’ll ask! You should remember that this is a mutual conversation and interviewer might have other questions besides your one-way speech. Listening more than talking and giving the right answer to the right questions will show your communication skills better than anything else. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask questions to your interviewer, please, go ahead as long as they’re serving for a purpose!
Negativity & Inappropriate Behaviour
One of the things that all the recruiters in the world hate are rude interviewees. We’re all having problems in our lives but showing to other people is just not a part of the professional world. Not just speaking very negatively about their current or former employers which is also a mood killer but sometimes talking aggressively, in general, will affect your impression on the interviewer. Angry people are not what we are looking for to recruit, that’s for sure. We are looking for people who can keep calm while they’re dealing with their customers, business partners and colleagues. By showing your angry side in an interview will just be a self-sabotaging for your employability. In addition, never tell your recruiters that they could easily become models, don’t flirt with them or insult them in other ways. Mide your manners and control the body language to lessen the negative impressions that might have arisen about you.
Lying, Being Inattentive
Not listening to your recruiter is one thing, lying about what you hear or read is another thing.The recruitment process can involve different stages and different interviewers. This means you should be careful when you say “this was not told to me before”, recruiters may have better internal communication than you have with them. Transparency is a key approach we value a lot and we try to keep in our both communication with our candidates and clients. When we or the company hear “this was not the deal”, it damages everyone involved in the process. This is the reason you should be careful to make sure you read the job description, requirements and further conversations with your recruiters to understand if the job offer matches your preferences. Feel free to ask to understand the process and conditions better and make it clear for yourself first.
Forgetting to Ask Questions and Following Up
Speaking about questions, do you wonder what’s going to happen after your interview? If yes, the answer is: depends and therefore, you should ask. Assuming you’re already asking the necessary questions about the position and the company, we’d like to add that you should also ask about the rest of the process. Even though we try to give as much information as we can, following up is a sign of interest and courtesy. Try to learn as much as possible about the next steps in your recruitment process. Don’t think interviews as exams that you just want to get rid of because this is an ongoing process. Write a thank-you mail after the interview, show your gratitude and try to create a network connection by learning about the contact details of the person you’re going to have an interview next. That’s what we do as well and what’s expected of you as a prospective employee.
Ghosting and Not Being Honest
Last but not least, never ever ghost your interviewer. Do it for yourself, because you wouldn’t want this being done to you as well, would you? Think about all the job applications you have done and never heard back? That’s something we never do and expect the same from our candidates. It happens often that even in the last stages of the recruitment process candidates cancel their interviews with the companies and never even write back again. We assume that they’ve got another job offer which would be totally understandable only if we already knew about it. If you need to stop the process giving the reasons while doing it is the best way to handle the situation. Otherwise, you may have a hard time when you apply one of the offers of the recruitment agency or the company after 6 months. Truth to be told, you’ll have your place in blacklist with a tag of “do not take into consideration” because of your previous unprofessional behaviour. If you handle the process with a professional attitude you’ll bethe perfect candidatefor us in future opportunities!
All in all, the mistakes listed here have one solution which is simple yet a must-have: being professional and respectful. That’s all we need in a harmonious business environment. Review more insight abouthow to nail your job interview beforeand try to enjoy the process as much as you can! Good luck with your job hunt and contact us whenever you need help!
