We are terrible at interviewing. We walk
into the interview room without preparing. We spend time worrying about
“trick questions” and about what shirt we should wear, instead of the
things that really matters. Worst of all, we believe an interview is
intended for us to simply answer the questions that the interviewer
gives us.
I say this as someone who’s sat on both
sides of the table: as a candidate, interviewing against some of the
world’s toughest companies (like Google and a multi-billion-dollar hedge
fund), and as a hiring manager.
Yet once you can master the interview
process, you can secure job offers against other candidates who have
many years more experience than you. In today’s economy, knowing how to
interview is a killer skill.
That starts with knowing what to avoid doing in a job interview, or what I call “5 Interview Killers.”
1. “I just sort of… and then… and like… and uh… yeah.”
If you ramble, you lose.
Think back to when you last met someone
and asked them a simple question (“So, what did you do at Acme Corp?”),
only to hear 6 minutes of irrelevant details. How did you feel?
Now imagine this happening in a job
interview. Interviewers aren’t just evaluating your technical skills.
They’re using the “Airport Test,” asking themselves, ‘Could I see myself
being stuck in an airport with this person?’
Like it or not, we’re evaluated on our
personality as well as our skills. And if you can’t give a tight,
concise answer in an interview, the interviewer will wonder if you’ll be
able to do it in your job.
2. “Yeah, I helped out with that but it wasn’t just me.”
Humility is a great trait, but going out of your way to be self-deprecating is an interview turn-off.
You should always be candid about your
role, but your interviewer doesn’t care about your team dynamics or
organizational chart. He wants to know what you did. He wants to know
how you think. He wants to know about you
If you keep downplaying your accomplishments, how is a hiring manager supposed to value you enough to hire you?
It’s okay to be proud of the work you’ve
done. It’s okay to be confident. Try it: Practice saying, “I’m glad you
asked about that project. I’m really proud of the results we got,
including a 13% revenue increase in 6 months.” See how that makes you
feel.
Does it feel uncomfortable the first
time? Of course. We’re not used to talking about our accomplishments
without downplaying them. But the fifth time you practice your confident
answers, it will start to feel natural.
3. “I left my last job because I didn’t really get along with my boss.”
We’ve all had bosses from hell, but an interview is not the place to trade war stories.
Take the high road: “I really enjoyed
working at Acme Corp. One of the things I appreciated was being able to
grow my skills in email marketing, but now I’m ready to take my skills
to a bigger stage. That’s why I’m excited to work with you…”
4. “I work too hard.”
What’s your biggest weakness?
Interviewers love to ask this question
because it separates the top performers from the average workers. The
most common — and worst — responses are trite: “I work too hard” or “I
have trouble saying no to responsibility.”
Hiring managers aren’t stupid. They can see right through these canned responses.
So what is the right answer to a question about your biggest weakness?
Look for the “question behind the
question.” What interviewers really want to know is that you’re
self-perceptive enough to acknowledge your weaknesses — which we all
have — and that you’ve taken recent action to improve them.
So instead of a canned answer, explain
what a real weakness you have and how you’ve worked to fix it. Include
specifics. Point to conferences you’ve attended or projects you’ve taken
on.
That’s how you answer the weakness question and nail the interview.
5. “I made 40K at my last job, so I’m really looking for something more like 50K. But you know…I’ll be willing to take 45K too.”
Your interviewer will always want to know how much you made at your last job. But it’s not your responsibility to tell them.
In fact, you put yourself at a severe
disadvantage if they know your salary. For example, if you tell them you
make $50,000, and the hiring manager was prepared to offer you $60,000,
you’ve just lost thousands of dollars from one sentence.
Even in this economy, few companies will
reject you for simply not answering the salary question. That’s because
it costs thousands of dollars to recruit the average candidate. If they
really want you, they’ll make you an offer, and you can negotiate from
there.
When they ask for your salary, here’s
your line to use: “I’m sure we can discuss salary when the time is
right, but for now I just want to see if there’s a mutual fit for you
and me.”
Negotiating can be tough, but it can be worth thousands of dollars to you
There you have it — 5 Interview Killers
to avoid in an interview. Avoid these blunders and watch your
interviewing success skyrocket.
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