The 8 Deadly Interview Mistakes to Avoid
Ed Pollock, December 10th, 2009 
Hmmm... maybe I should have done more research!
Preparation and practice for interviews is critical, and can help you avoid the 8 deadly mistakes.
How do you prepare? Use ZoomInfo, Yahoo Finance, and the company’s website. Learn as much as you can about the company (or if a large company, the particular group or division you’re interviewing with).
First, know the basics. How long they have been in business? How many employees do they have? What products do they produce? Who are their clients? Are they privately or publicly owned? Where is corporate headquarters? Who is on the Board of Directors? Who are the officers of the company?
Second, dig in. You might find out that the CEO graduated from your alma mater, or that the company does business with one of your past employers, or you own one of their products. All that information will help you ask or answer questions at the interview. Be prepared! With that, and a bit more, you might avoid the 8 deadly interview mistakes below!
Avoid these 8 deadly mistakes! (If you have more, feel free to comment below!)
- Over-explaining why you lost your last job. You can’t win with this, keep it short, simple and practiced.
- Not showing enough interest in the position and company. You may be interviewing for a position that is down a level or you feel is beneath you – but to the hiring manager, it’s a critical position and they want the best candidate. Find enthusiasm!
- Not having your personal “elevator pitch” ready. Have a 90-second brief resume of yourself ready to go – you may briefly meet others in the hallway and it’s a great way to start any interview.
- Not listening. If you don’t listen, you are committing multiple interview sins. First, you’re showing how you’ll be as an employee. Second, you will answer the wrong question. That will lower your perceived intelligence. Third, you’ll make it look like you can’t follow instructions.
- Not selling yourself as the best person for the job. Don’t sell yourself short! Figure out why you are the best candidate from the interviewer’s perspective – and communicate that clearly!
- Not practicing. Sure, you know the answers if you’ve prepped, but you still don’t want to stumble when you deliver your carefully studied answers.
- Being vague. Just like you do on your resume, have strong verbal responses. Be prepared with numbers – $ or % – of how you helped prior companies that you worked for. Like, “I increased sales from $350,000 in 3 years to $2,500,000”.
- Not asking for the job. In an interview, you’re selling yourself. Any good salesperson will tell you, if you don’t ask for the sale you won’t get it. Close the interview by summing up what you can bring to the job and ask for the opportunity to deliver those results.
Thanks to to CNNMoney for inspiration for this list.
You can never be over-prepared an interview. Do your homework and be prepared!
Good hunting!
Categories: Interviewing Tips, Job Hunting Interviewing Tips
2 Reader Comments
When interviewing potential candidates, I have found the “know-it-all” to be a real turnoff. Most positions require the potential employee to communicate and work with others, meaning that they need to be able to foster a relationship with co-workers. If the person interviewing is to busy trying to prove he/she already knows how to do everything, he/she does not appear to foster an open communication relationship. It is important to balance confidence with the willingness to work with the ideas of others.