The less you are prepared for an interview, the more nervous you will be. Of course, being late or not dressed appropriately certainly don’t help and will only make you more flustered. But preparation that includes a full review of the role as well as gathering as much information as possible about the company are key to a successful interview. Having this type of preparation will make the interview less tough than it could be.
Make sure you understand the questions the interviewer is asking you and you will avoid interview mistakes. There is nothing more annoying for an interviewer when someone answers a question that is not being asked. Interviewers are shrewd enough to know when you are avoiding answering a certain type of question.
Make sure that you are telling the truth! Interviewers are usually very skilled and will sense if you tell something that is simply not true. Even if you do get something by them, they will have you checked out and it will come back to plague you later. Imagine being fired from a job because you lied about your background and then have to try to explain this at an interview for another job.
Another basic interview mistake is not to have any questions ready for the interviewer. You always need to have some questions ready for the interviewer. It is a strong signal of intent. You applied for this job and you mean business. You want to know all about it and the company. Even if this is the tenth person whom you have met at this company, ask them the same questions to see if the response is consistent.
Preparation is key!
Doug
4 Responses
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Bill Norton Says:
Thanks for the tips Doug, but in reality, do you believe that it is possible to go through an interview without making some mistakes?
Billy N
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Doug Says:
Hi Billy,
In reality, probably not but.. you should never get rattled or too flustered if something goes wrong. The interviewer will be assessing how well you react under pressure also.
For example, say if you forgot to turn off your phone, you should quickly apologize and turn it off. Do not make a meal out of the apology (or do not let it ring out). Over apoligizing will make you flustered and could very well change the tone of the whole interview very quickly.
Remain calm at all times.
Avoid silly mistakes like phone ringing, food repeating etc.
Doug
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shalini Says:
Thank you very much for!! This is really useful for my upcoming interview. I have to avoid making repeating mistakes:)
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Doug A. Stowell Says:
Shalini, best of luck with your interview, any questions, feel free to ask, Doug
