10 Interview Mistakes That May Cost You A Job

Even the most qualified professionals can look for work for months. Sometimes it seems that there is very little left to get the desired job, but at the last moment something goes wrong. Edition Lifehacker talked about possible mistakes at the interview and how to avoid them.

Фото: Depositphotos

1 error. You are late

The surest way to set up an HR manager against yourself even before the interview begins is to be late for the meeting. Few people are willing to work with someone who does not know how to manage their time. Such non-punctuality can be perceived as disrespect. Or, even worse, as a sign that you don’t really need a job.

What to do

This can be considered the first test. And if punctuality is not your strongest side, take the time to prepare for the meeting.

• Poor orientation in an unfamiliar area? Calculate the route on online maps and exit with a margin of time.
• Are you at risk of getting stuck in traffic? Leave the car and go to the meeting by public transport.
• Are you still late? Call the company representative and warn - this will smooth out the impression a bit.

2 error. You got dressed wrong

More precisely, they did not pay attention to their appearance, and this is the first thing a person pays attention to when meeting. Especially if it's an HR manager. Usually, 17 seconds are enough for a person to make a first impression of the interlocutor. You can be an excellent specialist, but the recruiter, who was outraged by your dirty shoes and stale shirt, will never know about it and is unlikely to be sorry.

On the subject: 10 US Highest Salary Companies

It is also important how it is customary to go to work where you hope to get a job. Not all candidates go for an interview to a company where there is a dress code and dress accordingly. But for many recruiters, this is important: if the applicant has not worried about his appearance, then he is either not motivated or just too lazy to find out about the dress code.

What to do

Going for an interview, donate jeans for a while and choose clothes in a business style. Put yourself in order to look tidy and well-groomed. Do not use perfume, preferring a neutral odor deodorant.

3 error. You are not guided in your resume

Although the HR manager will have your resume before your eyes, you will still be asked to tell about yourself. If the applicant can not do this, confused in the names and dates, this is a fat minus. The question arises whether he even wrote the truth there.

It is unlikely that you are the only candidate with whom the recruiter has talked over the past few days. HR may not remember the content of your resume. But if you do not remember him well, it is strange.

What to do

Before the interview, review your resume, remember the main stages of the work path. Not so important are the legal names of the places where you worked, as your functions and achievements there. And during the meeting, telling about the experience in each position, briefly list the information from the resume.

4 error. You don't know anything about the company.

A candidate who did not bother to find out what a potential employer is doing obviously likes to take risks. Not the fact that you will be asked what you know about the company. But if it turns out that you don’t know anything at all, it means that your choice was not conscious. Most likely, you are in desperate need of work and are clutching for any vacancy. And this is certainly not what employers want to hear.

What to do

Show your awareness, interest and ability to search for information.

What you should pay attention to when meeting a potential employer on the announcement:

• Examine the information about how many years the company has existed, what facts about itself indicate. Make sure you have the contact information: office address, work phone numbers and e ‑ mail. Serious companies use corporate email on their own domain.
• Carefully read the job description in the vacancy. It should be detailed, but not excessive. A competent employer is interested in ensuring that candidates have a clear idea of ​​what to do.
• You can learn more about the company’s corporate culture by ad style. He can be restrained and formal or creative and friendly.

5 error. Uncomfortable Questions Baffle You

The Internet is full of stories about how HR specialists conduct real stress interviews. And a person who is not ready for an interview can be embarrassed even by a standard request to tell about himself or simple questions:

• Why do you want to work in this company?
• Why did you leave your previous job?
• Why should they take you?
• Who do you see yourself in five years or more?
• What salary are you applying for?

What to do

Prepare answers to these common questions, and look for the tricky and unexpected on the Internet. Practice answering in front of the mirror or ask friends to play along with you. Record your responses to the video: this way you can look at yourself from the side, listen to whether your speech sounds confidently, whether there are any parasitic words in it. Try to be laconic.

On the subject: Significant difference: how gender, age, and race affect US salaries

6 error. You are not very loyal

An ideal candidate speaks of a past company either well or briefly and neutrally. This indicates that the applicant is not in conflict and will correctly apply to the employer. If you, in your faces, are ready to tell you what kind of bad people you had to work with before, this will not cause sympathy. This kind of criticism will tell more about your character than about those whom you criticize.

What to do

When answering a question about the reasons for dismissal, do not discuss the personality of the leader and colleagues. Better talk about the lack of career growth, the inability to reveal their potential, remoteness from home.

Even if the working conditions in the last place were definitely terrible, which is why you quit, talk about it in neutral terms. For example, if the processing was not paid, and the salary was steadily delayed, say so, without drawing parallels with slave labor.

7 error. You are not confident

Being preoccupied with an interview can nullify your chances, even if your skills and experience match the position. It is difficult for an insecure person to prove himself a successful candidate with whom the company can achieve high results. Interviewing is a kind of stress. And how you react to this stressful situation can tell a lot about you to the employer.

What to do

Before entering the office of a potential employer, remind yourself: not only the company chooses, but also you.

Start preparing for the interview and dealing with uncertainty during the resume creation phase. Indicate in it everything that you consider your strengths. Both retraining courses and certificates of well-known online courses are suitable if the programs completed are relevant to the position for which you are applying.

8 error. You praise yourself

Trying to impress the interviewer, do not exaggerate the scale of your merits. The applicant, who picturesquely talks about his incredible achievements in the past, raises the question: why is such a successful candidate looking for work?

Often, job seekers are disingenuous in an interview, trying to impress HR. Someone exaggerates their experience and skills, someone understates age. This is deadly for reputation: many of the things that you report about yourself are easy to verify with a few calls or a quick look at your social networks.

On the subject: 20 professions with the fastest growing salaries

What to do

Let real facts speak for you. Talking about your successes at the previous place of work, note that you owe this to the companies and people you worked with, if you really think so. For the HR manager, this is a good signal: the job seeker loves teamwork and is loyal to the employer.

9 error. You behave strangely

Both stiffness and excessive activity can leave a bad impression on your interlocutor. It’s better not to risk it and not go beyond business communication.

Many job seekers, trying to make contact with the interviewer, try to joke. This is rarely appropriate. Some candidates, hoping for their own irresistibility, try to flirt and flirt with a recruiter of the opposite sex. And someone even tries to manipulate the interviewer with the help of tips from the book on NLP.

What to do

Trite, but effective advice: behave naturally. Do not practice acting if you are not employed in the theater: a professional will quickly figure out your “tricks” and not let yourself be deceived.

10 error. You have no questions

At the end of the interview you will be asked what you would like to know about the vacancy and the company. If you have no questions, it may seem that you are not very motivated. This means that you do not care what to do, or you have no idea where you came from.

What to do

Ask universal questions - unless, of course, you have received answers to them during the conversation.

• Why did the vacancy appear and what were the strengths of your predecessor?
• What difficulties can be associated with work in the position you are interested in?
• What is the typical working day for the position you are applying for?
• What opportunities for professional growth and development exist in the company?
• Is there anything you need to know about a job that wasn't in its description?

Read also on ForumDaily:

12 professions not affected by the economic crisis

How much you need to earn for a comfortable life in different states of the USA

'Like a resort, but you have to work hard': an immigrant from Belarus spoke about working for Google

15 Job Search Myths That Everyone Believes

10 US Highest Salary Companies

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.