Job Interviews: The 10 Most Common Mistakes

If you have already submitted your Curriculum Vitae and your profile has been liked (we recommend our article “10 tips to improve your CV“), Congratulations, you have an opportunity to get that job you have been looking for for a long time.

Now, all is not won. There are a number of unwritten rules that we must adhere to if we want the company offering the position to opt for our services.

Job interviews: making a good impression is up to you

In our daily lives we all make mistakes, but if there is one place where we should avoid them, it is during Job interviews.

In many cases, mistakes can be corrected, but mistakes made during an interview can determine, in the eyes of the interviewers, whether or not we are suitable for a position in concrete. Since we probably only have one chance to show our potential, we need to put on our best image.

The most frequent mistakes in job interviews

In the following list we will cite the ten most common errors that the Human Resources staff she detects in interviews.

We will also propose some tips to avoid them, in order to have a better chance of being chosen for the job we want. We are going to review the most frequent mistakes in job interviews.

1. Dressing inappropriately for an interview

How to avoid it: we need to research the company culture to get an idea of ​​how to dress. Both the job title and the organizational culture can determine what is the best impression for the job to which we aspire. If you have no idea how to go, the safest bet is to dress seriously and elegantly, not necessarily in a suit.

2. To be late

How to avoid it: if you are the type of person who is usually late, you should leave home half an hour or an hour earlier, as long as you consider sufficient counting the worst of the situations (traffic, that can be lost on the way, etc.). Few mistakes are going to ruin your chances of getting hired more than this one.

3. Bad body language

How to avoid it: it is one of the most frequent mistakes in the development of job interviews and also the easiest to prevent. Maintain good posture, stay relatively still and maintain eye contact for as long as possible. Train yourself to avoid nervous habits such as touching your face, rocking back and forth, or nodding with the head excessively, can improve the quality of the interview and the perception of the interviewer about U.S.

If you want to delve into the aspects of non-verbal language that influence the image you project about yourself, you can consult the article: "5 keys to mastering non-verbal language".

4. Lack of self-confidence

How to avoid it: do not stammer, do not look down at the floor or table, and above all, do not fall short when it comes to talking about personal abilities. But always with humility! Most people have a certain fear when it comes to exposing their positive qualities and achievements, but job interviews are the perfect place to do so.

Confidence in yourself is key, so don't hesitate to take a look at the post "Self-confidence: 7 keys to improve it".

5. Lack of interest

How to avoid it: ask questions about vacations, benefits, or how relaxed you would like the office work environment to be you want to work on can have negative effects. However, not asking anything can be even worse, because it can convey apathy. You have to show interest in the position and the company so that the interviewers can know that you really want the job.

6. Asking too many questions

How to avoid it: ideally, you should wait to ask questions until the interviewer lets you know. Otherwise, you should do them when the opportunity arises during the job interview. It is important to show curiosity, but without bombarding the interviewer with questions.

7. Interrupt the interviewer

How to avoid it: In the best case scenario, if you interrupt the interviewer, they will not perceive you as an anxious person, but surely they will think of you as disrespectful or simply rude. No matter how excited I am make sure you are actively listening and very carefully to the interviewer, and wait for them to finish speaking before responding.

What does the interviewer usually ask? You can discover it in our article "The 10 most frequently asked questions in a job interview".

8. Badmouth your old job

How to avoid it: In job interviews, you will likely be asked a question or two about your old job or about your relationship with the last boss you had. Don't take this as an opportunity to speak ill of them..

Accentuating the positive makes you a kind and personable person who is a pleasure to work with. If you focus on the negative. You will appear spiteful and vindictive, and this can make you look unreliable and overly individualistic.

9. Give false information

How to avoid it: study the company; do not go to job interviews without knowing her well. Review your resume. There is nothing more embarrassing than not being able to accurately answer a question about a specific project you have worked on.

The first step in preparing for an interview is being an expert on yourself. Take some time to get to know who you really are and know your strengths and weaknesses so you can do an interview fluent and correct, without lying but emphasizing his qualities that make him more desirable to the organization than him. interview.

10. Lack of preparation

How to avoid it: all the errors mentioned above can be summarized in this one. An interview is essentially a casting, and you are an actor. Do you think someone would show up for a casting without preparation?

Do your research and make sure you are ready to do an interview to show your best. profile, or at least that version of you that best suits what the company is looking for in question.