Interview
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7 Mistakes To Avoid To Ace Your Interview

 

Post date: 2020-05-08 07:35:51

 

7 Mistakes to Avoid to Ace Your Interview

 

Index:

Not researching the company

Not dressing up appropriately

Arriving late or too early

Jumping directly into the Payment and Benefits Discussion

Portraying negative impression about your past employers

Not asking questions

Not putting the phone in silent

Final Thoughts

 

 

Searching and applying for a new job requires a lot of hard work. To win a preliminary interview, you need to submit a resume, grow your network. Once your resume and cover letter impressed your potential recruiter, you get a chance to appear for an interview, maybe in person or through online video. Now you have to ensure that recruiters stay impressed with you and your skill.

There is a common saying, you will never get a second chance to impress your interviewer. Your first impression may depend on various factors; how you dressed up, how good is your communication skill, etc. It takes a lot to develop a positive impression; as there are plenty of pitfalls are there in between you and your dream job. Even a small mistake of yours can help to leap another qualified candidate.

So here’s the question comes what are the common mistakes you must avoid during the interview. Irrespective of which industry you are a part of, here is a list of 7 mistakes to avoid to ace the interview.

 

Not researching the company

Appearing to an interview blindly is never acceptable. By researching through the company’s website, you can get a better overview of what’s the organization stands for, what’s the culture of it, and what are the services and products it offers. Without proper research, it’s become impossible for you during the interview process to answer questions related to these topics. Researching the company may help to get through the next level of interviews.  So, you must know what is the easiest and fastest way to get enough information about a specific industry or a company to make a great first impression? Here are some points you should keep in your mind while researching;

 

  • Research the Company Website to make sure you have the answer to these questions about a company:
    • Who is the CEO?
    • When/why was the company founded?
    • Do they have multiple locations?
    • How do they make money?
    • What do they sell?
    • Why do their customers choose them?
    • How are they different from their competitors?
  • Search Google News (news.google.com) For the Company Name
  • Check out the company’s social media profiles (like LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook) to see recent news.

 

 

Not dressing up appropriately

What you wear for an interview can make a huge difference between getting an offer letter and facing a rejection. Though the stigma of having long breads, tattoos, and dyed colour hair is no longer there, but it’s still expected to look presentable and professional while you appear for a job interview. Here are few ideas of what you should avoid wearing while appearing for an interview;

  • Revealing clothes; Always cover-up for an interview. IT companies and start-up may not ask you to dress formally, but it still good to avoid these for an interview.
  • Not too casual; avoid wearing flip-flops, clumpy shoes, shorts, sunglass, branded T-shirts and hats.
  • Distracting items like luminous colours with bold bright patterns, huge loop earrings and individually crafted artwork nails. Tone down your makeup and jewellery so that your potential recruiter doesn’t get distracted from hearing fromyou.
  • Ill-fitting clothes; as too tight, too loose or too short fitting clothing will not be going to help to make a good impression.

 

Arriving late or too early

Everyone’s’ time is important. So being late for an interview not only show the lack of promptness, it indicates a lack of respect for recruiter’s time. Try to plan everything, so that you won’t get late. Give yourself enough time to reach the interview location in time.

If still, you face an unexpected delay at the last moment, inform them beforehand to let them know your expected arrival time.

In the opposite hand, arriving too early may also send a wrong message. 15-20 minutes before your scheduled interview is acceptable. But if you arrive too early, the staff have to entertain you to make a good impression on you. That is not going in favour of you.

 

Jumping directly into the Payment and Benefits Discussion

The first interview is not the right timeto discuss the benefits and salary structure unless your recruiter brings up the topic. According to major hiring authorities, start talking about salaries too early will end up to lose your plot. Employers don’t expect to discuss money until they have found you skilled enough for a position.

You can discuss the good parts of the company and mention how you can add values if you get hired. And try to avoid talking about work flexibility, holidays, as they can be a major turn off for a potential recruiter.

When you are asked about your salary expectation at any stage of the selection process, as a job seeker you should always emphasize that you are quite flexible around salary, and your main goal is to secure a perfect position in a right organization. And you must remember the following points in mind when talking about the payment issue;

Use salary resources (like Indeed, Glassdoor) to know the current salary structure for the job you are interested in.

Give a range, instead of the exact amount of salary.

And don’t start a negotiation until you get a formal job offer.

 

 

             Portraying negative impression about your past employers

In an interview, it’s important to be neutral and genuine but equally, you have to maintain the positive vibes in your response as much as possible. As you want you to be looked upon as one of the best candidates, remember each word of yours will help to shape the interviewer’s impression and perception about you. Regardless of how harsh the situation you have faced in your previous workplace, never talk negatively about your previous/current employers. As it directly brings a question whether the same you are going to with your potential employer in future. If you faced a question like why you want to leave your current position, answer in a way that you want to take a new challenge and take the ownership of the previous experience. Here are the 4 major reasons that you should avoid bad-mouthing about their former employers;

It creates a negative vibe

It indicates unresolved issues

It’s unprofessional

It shows emotional immaturity

 

Not asking questions

Employers always want an employee who cares about the work, enjoys the job and hopefully want to stay long. If you don’t ask any question; you may be presumed to be disinterested, lazy disorganised or underprepared for the opportunity. Asking the right question may cause a difference between getting hired and being rejected. Regardless of how thorough your interview goes, always ask two to three questions from your end. Here are some ideas you may ask during the interview;

Ask questions about the specific job

Ask questions about the company

Ask questions about the future

 

Not putting the phone in silent

During your interview, you must show respect by letting your interviewer feel like all of your attention is completely focused on them. And this interview is more crucial than any call, message or notification. So, once you are inside the interview room, make sure to switch off your phone. Even if your phone is in vibration mode, the buzzing noise can be quite embarrassing for you. It can be a complete distraction for both you and your potential recruiter and can be a deciding factor that will help your interviewer to decide whether to offer the job or not.

If by chance you forget to do so, apologize and turn it off.

 

Final Thoughts:

The main aim of the interview is that your potential employer wants to know about you. Learn to listen, be attentive and have a balanced conversation throughout the interview, so that you both get a chance to receive information. To make the best out of an interview avoid these 7 common mistakes in your next interview.

 

FAQs

  1. How can I overcome a bad interview?

To recover from a bad job interview you may consider the following steps;

  • Write Down What Goes Wrong
  • Get Feedback
  • Identify Strengths
  • Contact with interviewer through email a few days later thanking them for the opportunity.
  1. Should I apologize for a bad interview?

       Never apologize if the interview is not up to the mark, but do say sorry for any specific slip-ups

  1. How long does a good interview last?

      In general, a good quality face-to-face interview can last around 45 minutes to one hour. A long interview is a positive sign to depict the interview goes well.