The Top 5 Interview Mistakes Everyone Makes

By Soozy G. Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP

These are in no particular order, but #1 and #2 are very common.

1)    Criticize the company

Once you’re hired you can try to make any improvements that you see necessary. But in an interview, you are trying to see if your expertise and personality meet the company’s needs and culture. Even if you had a horrible time getting to the interview due to the company’s location, or the application process was long and annoying, the interview is not the time to bring this up. Keep your negative opinions to yourself.

2)    Say bad things about your current or former boss

Even if you had the worst job in the world, or the worse boss in the world, do not bring this up at an interview. Only if you’re asked about why you left or are leaving, you can say something like, “It just didn’t work out” or “We weren’t a match.” Then wow them with “But while I was there, I was able to…..”

3)    Avoid eye contact

For goodness sake, look at the interviewer when he/she speaks. Even if they’re not looking at you. Just because the interviewer is inexperienced or boring or a bad conversationalist, doesn’t mean that you have to be! You can periodically and briefly look around the room and out the window, but mostly concentrate on looking at the interviewer. If you are naturally shy and bad at this, practice. Eye contact is crucial here.

4)    Wear a clown costume

This is a joke, but not really. It’s amazing what job seekers will do now to be memorable. Do some research on the company before you interview. Is the culture totally casual, or do people wear suits all the time? When in doubt, I recommend always defaulting to dress up, not down. This is also where informational interviews can help, because you don’t have to dress up and you can still gather information and make a great first impression. My first interview out of college was an informational interview that turned straight into a job interview, and I was wearing New York City street clothes. Lucky for me, the office was that casual.

5)    Offer up your flaws to appear human

When the interviewer suggests “You do you!” that does not mean blurting out all of your flaws. We are all human, we all have issues, but proactively offering your shortcomings during an interview will not make you appear more human and therefore connect better with the interviewer. Nobody wants to hear about your nosebleeds or your painful elbow five minutes in. “You do you” for interviews means talk about what you’re proud of at work that addresses their needs. If it comes up, talk about your interests. Talk about overcoming hurdles at work, like the time when you initiated something, got pushback, and how you got it solved anyway. One applicant that I interviewed for a job took the interview sitting in an outdoor cellar stairwell on a break from a photoshoot. He claimed he was “Keeping it real.” Nope.

Most importantly, did you address the company’s needs and prove your hire with impact and results? Because if you talked about your passion, your communication skills, your years of experience, your loyalty, and your hard work, you might as well have made the mistakes above; you probably won’t be recommended to next steps.

In reaction to the list above, you may say, “People are silly! I don’t do any of these things!” But I bet you’ve done at least one of them. Everyone has. To make sure you’re not, click here for interview prep.

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