5
Things You Should Never Say in a Job Interview
With the economic recovery in full swing, there are an ever
increasing number of opportunities to move on to your dream job. If you've got
your resume in top form, you might have progressed to the interview stage.
Are you ready to wow your hiring manager? I've got a short list of things to keep in mind when you step into the interview environment -- this could make the difference between getting or losing a new career opportunity.
Recently, MSN Careers discussed the 8 worst things to say in an interview. It's a good list of gotchas to avoid. Here are 5 of the biggest blunders -- check out the MSN article for all 8.
1. "I hated my last boss." It doesn't matter how bad your last boss was -- don't cite it as a reason for leaving your job. Nor should you complain about your boss's management skills. This kind of trash talking will make your potential new boss think your interpersonal skills are weak and you're not a team player. Follow the advice your mom gave you: If you can't say anything nice about someone, explain that your last role was not a good fit for you, or you are looking for new ways to grow.
2. "I don't know anything about this company." Do your research. Know something about the company you're interviewing for, and be able to articulate how your skills will complement the business. If you're a Web designer, for example, at the very least study the company's Web site and explain what you like and what you would change, given the chance.
3. "No questions, thanks." When it's your turn to ask questions about the company and the role, have something to talk about. If you don't, it looks like your lack of inquisitiveness means you aren't genuinely interested in a career, but just a paycheck. Did the interviewer already answer everything you wanted to know? At least rephrase something you already talked about in a new way.
4. "What church do you go to?" Small talk can be great. I've already described how I leveraged my love of music and my friendship with a known rock star into an interview hotspot. But know where the line is and don't cross it -- don't ask or talk about stuff that's inappropriately personal.
5. "And another thing..." Avoid rats and bitterness. It's great to have strong opinions, but be careful that you don't come across sounding like you are angry or so opinionated that you'll be difficult to work with. No one wants to work with a serial complainer.
Are you ready to wow your hiring manager? I've got a short list of things to keep in mind when you step into the interview environment -- this could make the difference between getting or losing a new career opportunity.
Recently, MSN Careers discussed the 8 worst things to say in an interview. It's a good list of gotchas to avoid. Here are 5 of the biggest blunders -- check out the MSN article for all 8.
1. "I hated my last boss." It doesn't matter how bad your last boss was -- don't cite it as a reason for leaving your job. Nor should you complain about your boss's management skills. This kind of trash talking will make your potential new boss think your interpersonal skills are weak and you're not a team player. Follow the advice your mom gave you: If you can't say anything nice about someone, explain that your last role was not a good fit for you, or you are looking for new ways to grow.
2. "I don't know anything about this company." Do your research. Know something about the company you're interviewing for, and be able to articulate how your skills will complement the business. If you're a Web designer, for example, at the very least study the company's Web site and explain what you like and what you would change, given the chance.
3. "No questions, thanks." When it's your turn to ask questions about the company and the role, have something to talk about. If you don't, it looks like your lack of inquisitiveness means you aren't genuinely interested in a career, but just a paycheck. Did the interviewer already answer everything you wanted to know? At least rephrase something you already talked about in a new way.
4. "What church do you go to?" Small talk can be great. I've already described how I leveraged my love of music and my friendship with a known rock star into an interview hotspot. But know where the line is and don't cross it -- don't ask or talk about stuff that's inappropriately personal.
5. "And another thing..." Avoid rats and bitterness. It's great to have strong opinions, but be careful that you don't come across sounding like you are angry or so opinionated that you'll be difficult to work with. No one wants to work with a serial complainer.
5
Danger Signs Your Job Interview Is In Trouble
Do you know how to "read" an interview?
Bob Dylan told us that it doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Likewise, it doesn't take a career planning expert to tell you when your job interview is on life support. Here are some clues to tell you that you might be in trouble:
You're not absolutely sure how to get there. This can torpedo your interview before it even starts. How are you getting to the interview? GPS? Google Maps? Directions the hiring manager sent you? Be sure you verify the directions with a "second source" and add lots of buffer time so you don't arrive late. Are you there really early? Sit in the car if you have to, but don't show up an hour early and become a nuisance to the recruiter or hiring manager
You take a call on your cell phone during the interview. Really? You worked this hard to get an interview, and you take a call for any reason other than your mom is in the delivery room having another baby? Even looking at a ringng cell phone is an automatic deal killer for most any hiring manager.
Your interviewer takes a call. Run, don't walk, to the nearest exit. There's something horrifically out of whack with this company's priorities. Nothing is worth this job, trust me.
You bad-mouth your last boss or company. Be prepared for "why did you leave your last job," questions and have a better answer prepared than a tirade about how poor your last manager was. Even if it's true, this is a serious danger flag to a potential employer, because it paints you as someone who has poor inter-personal skills and doesn't work well with others.
The interview feels more like a questionnaire than a conversation. Is the interviewer running down a list of questions without taking any time to explore the answers you're giving? It's probably too late, so don't invest a lot of emotional energy in this opportunity. The interviewer has probably already decided not to hire you, and is simply completing the minimum necessary work to demonstrate the interview was completed. On the other hand, it's theoretically possible to turn the interview around by really hitting one out of the park, but you'll have to try hard.
Bob Dylan told us that it doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Likewise, it doesn't take a career planning expert to tell you when your job interview is on life support. Here are some clues to tell you that you might be in trouble:
You're not absolutely sure how to get there. This can torpedo your interview before it even starts. How are you getting to the interview? GPS? Google Maps? Directions the hiring manager sent you? Be sure you verify the directions with a "second source" and add lots of buffer time so you don't arrive late. Are you there really early? Sit in the car if you have to, but don't show up an hour early and become a nuisance to the recruiter or hiring manager
You take a call on your cell phone during the interview. Really? You worked this hard to get an interview, and you take a call for any reason other than your mom is in the delivery room having another baby? Even looking at a ringng cell phone is an automatic deal killer for most any hiring manager.
Your interviewer takes a call. Run, don't walk, to the nearest exit. There's something horrifically out of whack with this company's priorities. Nothing is worth this job, trust me.
You bad-mouth your last boss or company. Be prepared for "why did you leave your last job," questions and have a better answer prepared than a tirade about how poor your last manager was. Even if it's true, this is a serious danger flag to a potential employer, because it paints you as someone who has poor inter-personal skills and doesn't work well with others.
The interview feels more like a questionnaire than a conversation. Is the interviewer running down a list of questions without taking any time to explore the answers you're giving? It's probably too late, so don't invest a lot of emotional energy in this opportunity. The interviewer has probably already decided not to hire you, and is simply completing the minimum necessary work to demonstrate the interview was completed. On the other hand, it's theoretically possible to turn the interview around by really hitting one out of the park, but you'll have to try hard.
4
Tips to Help Ace Your Next Interview
Having a great resume might get you in the door, but eventually,
you're going to have to pass an interview in order to get offered a job. Do you
know how to "work a room" on the interview circuit?
Unless you're independently wealthy or a committed freelancer, you might want to check out these four tips designed to help you seal the deal and get an offer at the end of the interview.
These 4 tips to acing an interview come courtesy of Wisebread. If you've been through enough interviews, most of these might strike you as second nature. If you're still learning your way around the interview loop, though, some of these tips might prove invaluable.
1. Be unique. I recommend some caution here. Yes, it's important to stand out from the crowd. You want to give your interviewers a reason to remember you (in a good way). Some dude recently made his resume out of Google Maps, for example. But it's a fine line. Don't go too far -- a resume that's just plain weird will earn you a spot in the trash. On my last successful interview, I discussed something relevant -- my writing background -- but worked in a story about an encounter with a famous rock star. The interviewers enjoyed the tale. I didn't get the job onlybecause I could tell a personal story about Bob Mould, but I certainly made my interview memorable, which helped separate me from the pack.
2. Emphasize your awesomeness. Let me be clear about something here -- Wisebread suggests "honing your b.s. skills." I disagree. Sure, Wiseberead recommends staying on the truthy side of the truth/fiction fenceline, but even so, any advice that recommends b.s.'ing your way through life is seriously flawed. I've recommended many times that you emphasize your accomplishments, not your responsibilities, and it definitely applies here as well. Tell folks what you actually did, and you'll rise above the crowd of mouth breathers who can't articulate how their previous duties actually contributed to the business goals and success of the company they worked for.
3. Never say "can't." Employers are looking for people with positive, can-do attitudes. Try to avoid directly saying "no, I have no idea how to do that." Isn't there some analog, some similar tool or process you can compare it to? Surely there's some way to spin a question about some skill you don't have into talking about how you expertly can do something not entirely unlike this thing. Another example from my interview experiences: XML? Can barely spell it. But I have done an awful lot of HTML in my life. That's what I emphasized, and then suggested I could ramp up to XML pretty easily.
4. Look them in the eye. Be confident, be assertive, and push through your nervousness and insecurity to meet their gaze. Smile, laugh, pay attention when they're talking, and push yourself to return their eye contact when you answer questions. That sort of thing can take practice, but as someone who has sat on the hiring side of the table, I can confirm that energetic, animated, enthusiastic candidates get higher marks than visibly nervous, subdued, apparent introverts.
Unless you're independently wealthy or a committed freelancer, you might want to check out these four tips designed to help you seal the deal and get an offer at the end of the interview.
These 4 tips to acing an interview come courtesy of Wisebread. If you've been through enough interviews, most of these might strike you as second nature. If you're still learning your way around the interview loop, though, some of these tips might prove invaluable.
1. Be unique. I recommend some caution here. Yes, it's important to stand out from the crowd. You want to give your interviewers a reason to remember you (in a good way). Some dude recently made his resume out of Google Maps, for example. But it's a fine line. Don't go too far -- a resume that's just plain weird will earn you a spot in the trash. On my last successful interview, I discussed something relevant -- my writing background -- but worked in a story about an encounter with a famous rock star. The interviewers enjoyed the tale. I didn't get the job onlybecause I could tell a personal story about Bob Mould, but I certainly made my interview memorable, which helped separate me from the pack.
2. Emphasize your awesomeness. Let me be clear about something here -- Wisebread suggests "honing your b.s. skills." I disagree. Sure, Wiseberead recommends staying on the truthy side of the truth/fiction fenceline, but even so, any advice that recommends b.s.'ing your way through life is seriously flawed. I've recommended many times that you emphasize your accomplishments, not your responsibilities, and it definitely applies here as well. Tell folks what you actually did, and you'll rise above the crowd of mouth breathers who can't articulate how their previous duties actually contributed to the business goals and success of the company they worked for.
3. Never say "can't." Employers are looking for people with positive, can-do attitudes. Try to avoid directly saying "no, I have no idea how to do that." Isn't there some analog, some similar tool or process you can compare it to? Surely there's some way to spin a question about some skill you don't have into talking about how you expertly can do something not entirely unlike this thing. Another example from my interview experiences: XML? Can barely spell it. But I have done an awful lot of HTML in my life. That's what I emphasized, and then suggested I could ramp up to XML pretty easily.
4. Look them in the eye. Be confident, be assertive, and push through your nervousness and insecurity to meet their gaze. Smile, laugh, pay attention when they're talking, and push yourself to return their eye contact when you answer questions. That sort of thing can take practice, but as someone who has sat on the hiring side of the table, I can confirm that energetic, animated, enthusiastic candidates get higher marks than visibly nervous, subdued, apparent introverts.
5
body language moves that will ruin an interview
(MoneyWatch)
Much of the information that we communicate happens non-verbally via subtle
signals we put out with our posture, gestures and attitude. It's no surprise,
then, that your success in a job interview depends quite a bit on almost
everything except what you actually say. Recently, WiseBread explained the most common body language
mistakes people make in interviews -- and how to avoid them. Here are the
highlights:
Your handshake makes a critical first impression. Your dad probably
taught you how to shake hands and his lesson was more important than you know.
Make it firm -- not body-builder-aggressive and certainly not feeble like a
dead fish. Also, be sure your hand is dry, so if you're perspiring, wipe it off
before you meet your interviewer.
Don't touch your face. People touch their faces
instinctively and without conscious thought. But if you want to make a good
first impression, you'll need to be very conscious of where your hands are for
the duration of the interview. Keep them well away from your nose and mouth,
which can be a turn-off to germophobes. And for everyone else, touching your
face is sometimes interpreted as a sign of dishonesty.
Don't cross your arms. Even if you only know one or two ways
to read body language, you probably know this one -- crossing your arms is a
sign of defensiveness and passive aggressiveness. That's not the impression you
want to convey, so put your hands on the table where they can't cause you any
trouble.
Don't stare. You probably know that making eye
contact is a good thing, right? Well, there's a difference between positive eye
contact and just plain staring. This is one of those things that should be
natural, but if you think too hard about it, it is challenging to do in a
natural way. The bottom line is that you want to maintain eye contact in
moderation, without letting it devolve into uncomfortable staring. At the same
time, don't let your eyes wander around the room as if you're bored.
Avoid nodding too much. You might think it's a good idea to
nod a lot, either to appear to agree with your interviewer or to imply you're
paying close attention, but the reality is that this can make you come across
as sycophantic or spineless. Like eye contact, nod in moderation, and only when
it's clearly appropriate.
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