Five Critical Mistakes Made by Candidates During the Interview
Not prepared for the interview.
It is imperative that you prepare yourself for the interview.
This includes many factors from dress, to company knowledge, to selling yourself.
Clients want to know that you know who they are and what they do and why you
are there.
You must do your research before you arrive for the interview and be prepared
to ask intelligent, probing questions related to the position and the company.
Being negative about past positions.
"What did you like least about your last job?"
is something of a trap, because it's asking you for a negative answer. If you
haven't given the subject some thought, you may blurt out something about your
boss or the company, and talk yourself right out of a job.
One of the purposes of this question is to find out if you're going to be satisfied
in the job for which you're interviewing. If you were dissatisfied before, you
may be dissatisfied again if the circumstances are similar.
Not selling yourself and expressing interest in the position.
Your job during the interview is to get the offer. To
present yourself so that the client sees the benefits of hiring you. They need
to know why you do the job and why they should hire you, only you can tell them.
Clients want to hire people they feel are excited to
come to work for them. It is critical that you express interest in the position,
if you are interested. Let them know you can do and want the opportunity.
.
Focusing on issues not related to the position.
Salary and benefits are an important component in the
hiring process but they should not be the primary reason for making a change.
If you approach the interview purely from the prospective
of what’s in it for me and do not sell yourself and focus on the job,
you will not be considered and comp and benefits will never be a factor.
.
Misrepresenting your credentials.
Do not try to bluff an answer. If a question is asked
and you do not have all the experience don’t mislead the interviewer.
Many clients are sophisticated interviewers and will continue to probe any experience
you claim to have.
Present the positive. Talk about related experience you’ve
had and how you quickly learned and were able to contribute to projects.
They may not need all the experience the question reflects,
they may only want to understand your depth of experience.
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