Despite years of experience under your belt, it is no foolproof mental preparation plan that can secure you from unanticipated questions resulting in interview blunders during a face-to-face interview. These questions when uncalled for, can make you nervous to promote blunders unknowingly.
Most times these blunders are often ignored at the cost of losing out a great job offer. The blame then is often thrust on external factors such as environment, health issues, family problems held responsible for the interview faux pas.
The first step to rectifying a blunder is by recognizing the mistake (s) done, accepting responsibility for the blunder and gauging impact, repercussions, and consequences that follow post the deed. The key to avoiding blunders is knowledge about things you should not do or say during an interview.
If you are still wondering, what are the common interview blunders we all make, but seldom recognize the impact of our words and actions on the minds of the interviewer – here’s a sneak peek on the top five:
- Improper Dressing Sense
The way you dress speaks volumes about your personality, your sense of style and deserving of the job role. First impression matters! So it’s extremely important to look clean and polished for the job you’re applying. Stick to the formal dress code for all interviews and business meetings. Set aside your favorite pair of jeans for one of the casual evenings with friends or a party.
- Not knowing details about the company and the job role
This is just basic, and as a matter of strange fact, experienced professionals are the ones who falter the most in this key question. The amateurs and inexperienced graduates are prepared with adequate company knowledge, owing to nervousness and fear about an upcoming interview.
However experienced professionals display ignorance and over-confidence, assuming their skills and knowledge to be the game changer. They focus very little on knowing more information about the company they are applying for and most often switch jobs only for financial gains.
There is no denying the fact that experience does matter, but new employers are looking for more. They are keen on understanding – why would you like to make a job switch at this stage in your career, what is your career plan and why would you be keen on working for their company. They need a solid argument and demand logical reasoning to be convinced of your long-term career vision.
Do not take the interviews lightly, because while experience can help get your resume shortlisted, it’s ultimately your passion and inner drive that will reward you with a long-term fulfilling career.
- Talking too much or too little
You need to practice the art of moderation in almost every facet of life, and most importantly in business conversations. Learning when to talk and how much to speak or elaborate is extremely important to sustain the interest of the receptor. When an interviewer asks for more details about your job role, learn to communicate in specifics to the point.
Long winding answers to questions should be avoided at all costs to meet the time constraints as allocated by the recruiter during a workday. If you talk more, the recruiter soon loses interest in your life story; on the contrary if you talk less, the interviewer is left confused in a state of ambiguity questioning your competencies and skills for the job.
- Inappropriate body language
Body language helps interviewers understand the psyche, personality, and mannerisms of a new talent. In those few minutes of an interview, the recruiter is not just keenly listening to your career growth story, but is also observant and decoding your body language simultaneously.
Such as, maintaining eye contact with the employer is important to add credibility and authenticity to your statements. But the problem arises when continuous eye contact without the blink of an eyelid, turns into blank stares.
Hence, it is important for job seekers to know the level of eye contact to be maintained and the language of decency, polite mannerisms to adhere at all times.
- Bad mouthing about your past employer
Time and again, experts have stressed upon job seekers (particularly experienced professionals) to stay off the habit of badmouthing about their past employer. However, probing questions when posed by the recruiter such as seeking reasons for job switch is a tricky one indeed.
Here’s where most folks falter and fumble, to give subtle or clear indicative hints complaining about their current or past employer and justifying reasons for dissatisfaction at work. Bad mouthing behavior is never appreciated during an interview.
Be aware of what you speak. Stay off the grid by only divulging details about your current job role and be assertive with salary and recognition demands.
Read: Easy Ways to Answer the Most Common Interview Questions
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