News & Press

June 08, 2003

« Previous | Return to Main | List All | Next »

D.J.Burrough
Special for the Republic & Your Career Pros

Simple mistakes can sabotage job interview

Tell a 10-minute story about the time you caught a 6-pound trout. Ask the interviewer to explain what the company does exactly. Or just show up in shorts and a T-shirt. There are many ways to flub an interview, but some of the most common are simple mistakes that can be avoided if you prepare and keep your wits about you, career experts say. The most common interview mistake candidates make is to talk too much, according to 43 percent of recruiters interviewed.

The next most common mistake: coming unprepared. Job seekers who show up without enough knowledge of the company, its products and services and the position risk losing an opportunity. They’re also unprepared if they are not able to talk easily about their achievements and expertise and how it would benefit the company, said Linda Baugh, president of American Career Executives.

The candidate who isn’t prepared risks coming across to interviewers as a second-rate amateur who is too lazy to do any research or to work on his or her presentation, she said.

Candidates are trained to do enough research so that they uncover five points of interest abut a company, can ask five intelligent questions and can talk about five important points about their background, Baugh said.

While not as prevalent a mistake as talking too much, being unprepared can have more of a negative impact on the interview. Forth-one percent of the recruiters in the survey felt that being unprepared was the most “fatal” to a candidate’s chances of getting hired. Next was an over-inflated ego, at 32 percent, followed by talking too much, with 17 percent, and bad hygiene or poorly dressed, at 9 percent.

Worse than wearing the “Down With Bush” T-shirt is to talk about money in an early interview, Baugh said.

Money should be brought up only after the company has made you an offer of the job. The more times you can meet with the company while putting off talking about money increases your chances of getting an offer, and getting a higher one, Baugh said.

Mistakes to avoid

Career experts say most common interview mistakes can be avoided with adequate preparation. Pitfalls to avoid:

· Talking too much. Keep your answers short and wait for interviewer to ask follow-up questions

· Coming unprepared. You should be familiar with the company and how your skills would fit in there.

· Poorly dressed or bad hygiene. Enough said.

· Mentioning money. Wait until the offer is made to discuss salary, etc.

http://www.yourcareerpros.com/news_simple_mistakes.html

Start NOW To Improve Your Results!
Click Here to Complete Your Confidential Career Profile