People spend countless hours working on their cover letter & CV to get pass through interview, but there are certain mistakes that happens during the interview that can’t be undone. Pasted below are few pointers that would help avoid these common mistakes –
1. Don’t forget to carry your CV and work experience / qualification documents;
2. Do your homework really well before attending an interview. Be ready to speak about yourself and your qualifications without rambling. Use examples that matches your abilities to the specific job for which you are getting interviewed;
3. Don’t be late. Show up 10 minutes before the interview time;
4. In a Telephonic interview, avoid cell phone. If possible, use a landline phone instead. Cell phone connections can hiss, crackle, cut out, and may disconnect the interviewer. If a hiring manager gets dead air, they may at times get frustrated or not call back;
5. Don’t interact in any another activities like eating or chewing gum till such time interview is running. Give the interviewer full attention and be aware of what can be heard at the other end of the call;
6. In a panel interview, don’t focus on one panel member to the exclusion of all of the other interviewers;
7. Don’t riddle your answers with vague terms like “hard worker” and “successful” without explanations of why and how;
8. Don’t simply read your resume to your interviewer. If you appear too nervous, interviewer will think you’re not confident enough to do the job. However, appearing too confident will make them think you won’t fit into the team. If interview nerves are an issue for you, it’s worth getting practical help from a professional, such as an interview coach;
9. Don’t exude body language where you seem cold, nervous or uninterested. Use a firm handshake, make good eye contact and avoid fidgeting;
10. Don’t Slate your current company or boss. Your job interview is NOT the time to seek revenge. Bear in mind that the interviewer will be listening to your answers and thinking about what it would be like to work with you. Ask yourself: do you like working with people who constantly criticize others? The trouble is that the interviewer draws massive conclusions from your answers. So your throwaway comment about your boss or employer may be interpreted to be your “standard” way of thinking. It makes you look bad, not your employer.
