COMMON JOB INTERVIEW MISTAKES

This article first appears on the milewalk blog | tips for work and life on October 5, 2015.

Not researching the company and job interviewers. This is a big no-no especially because it’s too easy to find information in cyberspace. I’ll excuse the lack of research regarding the job interviewers, but only if you don’t know their names. But if you do know their name there is a plethora of information available to you on LinkedIn, Facebook and even Google.

Not researching yourself. You need to know what you want and what makes you happy. How will you otherwise ask appropriate questions to determine whether the company can satisfy your lengthy list of needs?

Not being prepared with an abundance of questions. Do you care? Then make a list. Not deodorizing your social media platform. More than 80% of employers will check your

LinkedIn profile, Facebook Page, and Twitter handle before deciding to speak to you. Being late . You know the time. You can’t make it on time? Not shaking hands and looking the interviewer in the eye and maintaining that eye contact

throughout the job interview. Not directly answering the question. This is the first way you can drop the ball. Answer the

question she asked. Make sure to provide enough information. One-word answers generally don’t fly. If you’re not

sure whether you’ve provided enough information, ask them Not providing the information the interviewer actually needed to know. Providing too much information. If you see an eye roll, yawn, or watch-glance, you can bet you

need to stop talking. Criticizing. This is an all-encompassing remark. This means no bad mouthing a previous

employer, team, coworker, friend, spouse, whoever, or whatever. Answering any type of distraction . Looking counts. Hearing an email or chat beep counts even if

it’s in your brief bag. Please turn off your computer, iPad, and phone. Falling flat at the end and not proactively expressing interest. Make sure you indicate you are

interested in the job. Don’t forget to add “why” you’re interested so the interviewer knows it’s not a hollow remark.

Dressing like a slob. Watch your ironing, tailoring, skirt length, and so forth. Don’t touch. You think I’m kidding? Watch the hugs or pats or anything that isn’t a firm

handshake. Don’t smell. Forgetting to gather her contact information so you can provide a thank-you email and/or card.