Top Mistakes Candidates Make in Job Interviews

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <a href="http://static.businessinsider.com/image/52d7078169beddd0029c1522/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/image/52d7078169beddd0029c1522/image.jpg" width="400" /></a>here is a list of commonly made mistakes that must be avoided to make you in safe-side of selection process.<br /> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> 1. Use of language that is too informal</h3> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">It is important to remember that you are interviewing for a job,</span><div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">not trying to make a new best friend. Too much familiarity can<br />hurt your chances by making you look unprofessional.<br />Poor Phrase:“I’m sure you guysare aware that the job<br />market is in the dumps right now. It’s been one heck<br />of an uphill battlefor me for the past year.”</span></div> </h3> <h4 style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Perfect Phrase:</span></span></h4> <h4 style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Unfortunately, as I am sure you are </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">aware, the job market is still tight, and there is a great </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">deal of heavy competition for the same jobs.”</span></h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> <br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> 2.The use of words that are vague</h3> <br /> Words such as “a lot,”“various/multiple,” and “great deal of” are vague and don’t give the interviewer the needed information.<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Poor Phrase: </h4> <div style="text-align: left;"> “I have had a lot of experience with various lines of multiple products. I am proud of the results I’ve had in saving the company a great deal of money.”</div> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Perfect Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">  “With over eight years experience working in the paper industry and primarily selling photo paper, I consider myself an expert on the subject and have saved my clients as much as 20 percent on orders over $5000.”<br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> 3. Misuse of pronouns</h3> <br /> It can be very confusing and words can be misinterpreted when pronouns are misused. Be especially alert to this when you are using the pronouns “we,”“I,” and “you.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Poor Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “We were behind on our project, and we decided that we would stay and finish the job rather than miss our deadline.We pulled it together, and we were able to meet our deadline.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Perfect Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “I worked with a team of designers to bring a project in on time. We each took responsibility for a particular area.We worked closely, but at the same time we were completely disconnected from one another. This seemed to work because my four counterparts and I managed to pull the project together on time.”<br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> 4. Using company-specific words</h3> <br /> Each company has certain terms that are indigenous only to that company. Outsiders will not know what you are talking about if you use these terms. This is especially true if you have worked for a public organization or the military.You should use as many specific words as possible in your interview so that the hiring manager knows you are familiar with your industry.<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Poor Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “While I was working on the 767 project, I discovered an error in the “Whichamaculit”used to produce our 656 product line.This was a really costly mistake.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Perfect Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “At my last company there was a particular marketing project that involved a software conversion. Because of my strong attention to detail, I was able to catch an error that would have cost the company millions of dollars.”<br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> 5. Assuming everyone knows the acronym you are using</h3> <br /> Acronyms are used at every company—shortcuts used internally to eliminate a lot of words. Avoid using these in an interview because the hiring manager may not be familiar with the acronyms used at your current company.<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Poor Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “I was considered an SARand supported three line reps who were in the SWSC area.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Perfect Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “My position title was sales associate representative, and I supported the sales representatives who were responsible for the southwest area of South Carolina.”<br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> 6. Describing skills by using “weak” words</h3> <br /> Beware of small words that can sabotage your credibility— words like “pretty,”“most of the time,” and “kind of.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Poor Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “I’m pretty goodwith computers—at least most of the time I am. I kind of taught myself most of the programs.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Perfect Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “I am very knowledgeable about Unix software. When I was unfamiliar with programs in the past, I taught myself in less than two weeks. I am a very quick learner.”<br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> 7. Use too few words to answer the question</h3> <br /> One pet peeve many interviewers have is not getting enoughinformation. When a candidate answers a question with one or two words, it’s impossible to make a judgment as to whether this person is the right person for the job.<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Poor Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “Yes,I have had experience in that area.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Perfect Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “I have over 10 years working with biotech testing. If you were to ask any of my coworkers, they would tell you that I hold the record for the least number of mistakes when using testing equipment.”<br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> 8.Talking too much—not getting to the point</h3> <br /> When you fail to prepare for the interview, you can easily ramble and go off the subject down some other road. A rule of thumb is,“Your answers should be no longer than two to three minutes long.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Poor Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">  “My last company has developed software to support government enforcement of firearms violators. This nationwide project will be the first of its kind and will allow users to investigate firearms traffickers and purchasers.The software is able to track violent offenders and unscrupulous federal firearms licensees. This product will allow users to investigate and prosecute violators and felons by tracking their activities from remote locations. The product has been developed in cooperation with the U.S. government and will hopefully be purchased and used by all branches of law enforcement agencies that could use this tracking method. The company has invested over two years in developing and perfecting this product and has invested a great percentage of the company’srevenue in it, betting that this is going to have a big payoff long term. Short term it has put a considerable squeeze on the finances needed to run everyday work projects. If it is successful, it will be a huge coup for those who have hung in there. If it is not successful, it will be a huge loss to the company and will probably result in massive layoffs. So the whole project is going to make or break the company and it’s future.”<br /> <br /> <h4 style="text-align: left;"> Perfect Phrase:</h4> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> “At my last company I served as lead in getting a new tracking product launched nationwide. The product will be used to track firearms violators and bring them to conviction through evidence collected. I worked closely with the U.S. government and followed the regulations necessary to develop such a product.”</div> </div>

Top Mistakes Candidates Make in Job Interviews

here is a list of commonly made mistakes that must be avoided to make you in safe-side of selection process. 1. Use of language that is too informal It is important to remember that you are interview…

Read more »