Common Mistakes People Don’t Realize They Make in Interviews

When conducting interviews, employers watch out for certain blunders that signify a potentially bad candidate.  If you come unprepared and behave unprofessionally, an interviewer is likely to disqualify you.  With a long list of qualified candidates to choose from, employers won’t want to take a risk on someone whose qualifications appear questionable.  You have probably heard of common mistakes people make in interviews, such as not doing company research or dressing inappropriately.  But there are other common interview mistakes that many job seekers overlook.  If you aren’t getting the responses you want in your job search, here are some common job interview mistakes to avoid:

1)  Appearing Desperate

Though you may be dying to land employment, it’s important that you don’t make that obvious to the employer.  One of the common mistakes many people don’t realize they make in interviews is seeming as though they will take any job, instead of showing how the position they are interviewing for is a good fit.  Act confidently in the interview, clearly stating your strengths and how you can use them to perform the job in question.  Talking about yourself too much is among the most common interview mistakes to avoid that make you appear desperate.  Be sure not to sell yourself too hard.  Give the interviewer a background on your skills and experience, but also show interest in the company.

2)  Not Admitting When You Don’t Know the Answer

When you are nervous and trying to make a good impression to the employer, it can be tempting to cover up lack of knowledge on a certain topic or question.  But one of the most common job interview mistakes to avoid is pretending to know something you don’t.   Even worse is giving false information.  Confidently saying that you don’t know the answer will make you appear much more professional to the interviewer.

3)  Showing Zero Personality

Remember that not only are you a candidate for the job, you are also a human being.  Appearing too rigid and like you have no interests outside of your career is one on the common mistakes many people don’t realize they make in interviews.  Having a vibrant personality is essential to any company culture.  So, don’t be afraid to mention a fun adventure you went on recently or a hobby you are passionate about.  Better yet, crack a tasteful joke to lighten the mood if the opportunity presents itself.

4)  Unprofessional E-mail Habits

One of the most common job interview mistakes to avoid involves showing lack of common courtesy with e-mail.  Not only is it important to always send a thank you e-mail after an interview, but also be sure to take your time and give it your full attention.  Use professional language and grammar.  Also, don’t communicate with your potential employer using an e-mail address that sounds extremely unprofessional, such as hotbod70@domain.com.  Employers may have concerns that you will use the same judgement in correspondence on the job.

5)  Bad Body Language

Much of our body language is unintentional.  So, it’s understandable why this is one of the most common mistakes people don’t realize they make in interviews.  Examples of body language to avoid using in an interview includes biting your nails, looking at your phone, slouching and scratching your head.  Also, be sure to give a firm handshake at the end.  Something as simple as that can often make or break an interview.