Common Mistakes Made by Interviewees

Recruiters and interviewers often share stories about how they passed over an otherwise great candidate because he or she committed one of the following common errors during a job interview. While you can overcome many mistakes in your job search process, making a significant mistake in an interview is unforgivable.

As they say, knowing is half the battle. The act of interviewing for a job is no exception. If you know the common mistakes, you will more likely avoid them. Many of your competitors will not.

As you read through the following Common Mistakes of Interviewees, recognize that simply not making a mistake is often very helpful in standing out from the field. Hopefully this fact will give you some confidence as you prepare for the interviewing process.

Common Mistakes Made Before the Interview

Arriving late to an interview

Whether by 1 minute, 5 minutes or 10, arriving late for an interview is an irresponsible and proven way not to be hired. While waiting for a late candidate, an interviewer wonders, "If given the job, will this person show up to work late?" or "Is this job opportunity not important to this candidate?" Regardless, a tardy arrival is usually enough to prevent you from being hired, no matter how impressive your PAC Score or your prior experience or academic credentials. It is also important to remember that potential employers don't care what the excuse or reason is for your late arrival. Arrive on time for your interview so the person or people interviewing you can determine your potential value to the organization unbiased by any tardiness issues.

Presenting a Poor Appearance at the Interview

People often judge other people based at least in part on their appearance. By dressing in a way that suggests to others that you are organized, neat, fastidious and respectful of workplace norms and standards, you will ease the mind of the interviewer so they can focus on your qualifications, not your personal sense of style—or lack thereof. For more detailed information on dressing for interviews, please refer to How to Dress for Success.

Emitting Irritating Smells

The human sense of smell is strong, and subtle—and not so subtle—olfactory cues can deeply influence how people view you and whether they enjoy your company. Unpleasant body odor, bad breath, and excessive perfume or cologne are real threats to your ability to make a good impression on an interviewer. No matter how talented you are, odor can distract other people from realizing your true value as a potential employee.

Making a Bad Impression When You are Waiting

Your chance to make a good impression on the staff of the organization with which you will be interviewing begins even before you set foot in their offices. Just because you have not met your interviewer does not mean the interview has not already started. Treat everyone you meet with the utmost respect because you never know who knows whom. Everyone appreciates a gracious guest. To learn more, be sure to examine How to Make a Great Impression.

Arriving Unprepared

This mistake reveals itself in a wide array of ways – from not having an extra copy of your résumé to not knowing enough about the current events and trends in the industry – but it is the type of mistake that no candidate recovers from. Successful people in any pursuit don't simply improvise. Preparation is crucial. For detailed advice, please refer to How to Prepare for an Interview.

Failing to Research the Company

It is absolutely essential that you know a company's strategy, recent accomplishments and events, products and/or services, and general facts before arriving for your interview. It will help set you apart as a diligent candidate who is proactive and sincerely interested in a job within that specific company. Additionally, a more than passing familiarity with the company's strategy, competitors and the industry landscape is equally critical to demonstrate your interest and aptitude for the business, as well as to convince them that you have fewer things to be taught than your competitors.

Common Mistakes Made During the Interview

Lacking Smart, Polished Answers to Common Interview Questions

Some interview questions are meant to make you think and to struggle, but if you struggle to answer, "Why are you interviewing here?" the company recruiter will think you are unprepared, disorganized, or not truly interested in the job. Ensure you are prepared by reviewing and preparing your answers in our online question bank.

Conveying a Bad or Negative Attitude

Interviewers will value you in large part for your skills, but they also care whether you will be a person their staff will want to work with. Negative, aggressive, caustic, droll, overbearing or overly opinionated attitudes do not make for a good work environment and, if demonstrated during a job interview, will often eliminate you from consideration. Make sure you get noticed for the right reasons and prepare for your interview by following How to Prepare for an Interview.

Seeming Incoherent or Unfocused

Failing to stay focused on the interview as it progresses, expressing unsettled thoughts, or jumping from topic to topic will make you seem to an interviewer like someone who will not be able to focus on the job. Being able to pay attention and stay engaged in the conversation is crucial.

Lying

Any lie, no matter how trivial, made to an interviewer during your interview or in prior correspondence, will most likely cost you the job. As recruiters always say, "even little lies make a big impression." No interviewer wants to hire someone who is deceptive and dishonest.

Behaving Inappropriately

Behaving inappropriately with an interviewer, using inappropriate language, or becoming overly emotional or unprofessional are simply unacceptable in an interview and will all but ensure you will not be hired.

Using Profanity or Slang Expressions

Always be professional. Always. Avoid using slang words. No interviewer wants to hire someone that cannot talk to management or clients in a professional, educated-seeming manner.

Speaking Inarticulately or Failing to Enunciate

You are at an interview to market yourself and convince the interviewer that you are the right person for the job. Mumbling, failing to speak loudly and clearly enough to be heard and understood would only undercut your efforts. Avoid using 'filler' or 'stalling' words such as "like," "you know," "ah" and "ok" to bridge gaps in your speech. If the interview is in English and you are not entirely comfortable speaking English, relax and take your time and make sure the interviewer can understand you.

Not Asking Smart, Meaningful Questions

The interviewer is not the only person in a job interview who should ask questions. A terrific way to show interest in and knowledge about an organization is to ask a few of your own questions about the position or the employer's business. Additionally, most people, interviewers included, enjoy sharing their thoughts and opinions. The more interactive an interview seems for both parties involved, the more enjoyable and, often, more memorable the experience can be. For more details, read Sample Candidate Questions for Companies.

Failing to Showing Passion For the Company or about the Job Opportunity

Recruiters are often unpleasantly surprised when job candidates volunteer, "If hired, I'd just like to try this job for six months or so," or "I don't really know what I want to do, so I thought I would take a job like this one until I figure out my plans." Such comments are ill-advised and that sort of a career planning approach, foolhardy. Make sure you are pursuing job positions you are enthused about and sincerely desire to hold and grow within for the foreseeable future. Even absent those sorts of comments, interviewers can usually sense when a job candidate's interest in a job is not heartfelt.

Ridiculing Past Employers, Experiences or Universities

People with positive attitudes are almost always hired over negative people, and job candidates who openly ridicule their former employers are viewed as unprofessional. Positive lessons, skills and personal growth can be gleaned from even the most suboptimal experience and graciousness toward any former employer reflects well on you, the interviewee.

Failing to Make Eye Contact

Failing to make consistent direct eye contact, looking down at the floor or scanning the room suggests to interviewers that you may have poor people skills, which can dramatically hurt your ability to get a job. Show your sincerity of purpose and attentiveness and forge an interpersonal connection with the interviewer. This connection starts with good posture, a firm handshake and direct eye contact. Remember to maintain this eye contact during the interview so as not to appear evasive or introverted. Such skills will also help you to collaborate with others in team environments.

Failing to Listen

Interviewers often ask complicated questions to ensure that you can parse complex ideas and answer directly and concisely. It is entirely acceptable, when asked such a question, to pause to consider a question and to gather your thoughts before speaking. Be sure you understand the question before attempting to answer it and don't be afraid to ask for clarification of the question before proceeding. Such consideration will reflect well on your ability to approach problems methodically and thoughtfully.

Failing to Provide Meaningful Detail

When asking technical questions or observing your problem-solving, interviewers hope to see and understand the process you employ while approaching and solving problems, not just to see if you can come up with the correct response. Be prepared to discuss your assumptions, different potential paths to a solution, and what led you to arrive at your ultimate solution in detail.

When answering personal questions, be sure to give examples and stories from your past to illustrate and substantiate your point and, of course, to make yourself memorable. For example, when asked, "Do you like working in teams?" an insufficient answer would be, "Yes, I like working in teams." A better response would be "Yes, I like working in teams, and one of the best team experiences I had was when..." with you then relating a succinct story stressing your suitability to and appreciation for team-based projects.

Acting Overly Guarded or Evasive

Remember that recruiters and interviewers have seen and heard it all. Answering probing questions with generic or "safe" answers will usually result in failure. Recruiters have heard it all, and they've read all of the books providing scripted job interview responses, so it is better to speak from your heart and to be direct and unguarded.

Be yourself. Don't try to think of the "right" answer, but allow the interviewer to get to know you and convince them that you are the best person for the job. Every candidate is special. Every candidate can add value to a company. The trick is figuring out what makes you special and how you could add value to a specific company, then communicating those points.

Talking Too Much

While your primary role in an interview is to answer questions, it is absolutely critical to listen carefully to the interviewer and to try to determine what their questions are trying to discover about you. This will help you to be as succinct as possible and to engage and interest the interviewer in your responses.

Being too long-winded or detailed in your responses, taking up the interviewer's valuable time with talk of little consequence or relevance, or continuing straying off on conversational tangents will often cost you the interest, patience and empathy of your interviewer. Select and convey the points, details, and anecdotes most relevant to the question to which you are responding.

Additionally, be sure to let the interviewer talk and insert their comments. Try to make the interview more of a conversation than strictly a question-and-answer session. Lastly, never interrupt an interviewer when they are speaking.

Discussing Salary Too Early

The focus of the interview for you should be the opportunity, the job and the work—not the money. If an interviewer asks you what salary you are interested in, politely defer salary discussions until you have a written offer. You can learn more about techniques to artfully postpone such discussions by reviewing How to Succeed in an Interview.

Acting Overly Nervous

Everyone is at least a bit nervous when they are interviewed. That response is entirely normal. It, however, can become a problem if your ill ease takes control, resulting in poor performance within the interview.

That is why preparing for interviews is so important. When you feel prepared and ready, you are more likely to relax and to conduct yourself with ease and grace. Nervous energy often prevents you from revealing your best qualities, so dedicate a significant amount of time to preparation. Then relax, secure in the conviction that you will perform well.

Common Mistakes Made After the Interview

Failing to Write a Thank You Note within 24 Hours

Always send a personalized thank-you note to each person who interviews you with within one working day following the interview.

For taking time to interview you, each person who spoke with you deserves your sincere gratitude. Additionally, such correspondence will put your name in front of them yet one more time, making you more memorable and such behavior demonstrates your appreciation and professional courtesy. Please refer to How to Get a Job Offer to learn how to best write a thank you letter.

Failing to Follow Up

Many people believe their efforts have concluded the moment they leave the interview. The truth is, the work has in some ways just begun. It is best to place a follow-up telephone call within four to seven days after you send your thank-you note. Doing so will give the interviewer a chance to ask follow-up questions and for you to again demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm concerning the position.

Failing to Use a Follow-Up Call Effectively

If you do put in a follow up call, use it to your advantage. Do not just make it a nagging where-do-I-stand-in-the-process call. Follow the guidelines outlined in How to Get an Offer, and your call will not only hopefully get you an update, but it will also continue to build your reputation as a worthy professional.