Preparing for a job interview is a tiresome process. There are many pitfalls you should avoid to put your best foot forward. According to general guidelines, successful candidates are never late, have a professional outlook, show interest in the company activity, and demonstrate necessary skills. But if just following these simple rules was enough then surely getting your dream job offer wouldn’t be such a challenge. So what escapes our attention? So what does escape our attention? HR specialists from Jooble have prepared a review of less obvious mistakes candidates make during the interview.
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People whose opinions and values change rapidly are hard to trust. Sure, you can’t grow up professionally and personally without reconsidering your beliefs, but doing this too often looks suspicious and demonstrates a lack of confidence. Specialists say it particularly striking during different stages of the interview within one company. No one judges candidates for adjusting some of the answers to the expectations of the person they are talking to. However, if all they seek is approval, recruiters and hiring managers will soon expose it. Being consistent with the goals set will help you to stand out from the crowd of other job hopefuls.
You have definitely heard this feeble joke:
-Why do you need this job?
-I was always passionate about being able to afford myself food.
Potential employers will gladly listen to reasonable arguments explaining why you are a perfect candidate for them. However, they don’t necessarily have to know this is your 10th interview over the past two weeks or that you have to pay rent and a student loan debt. Showing how desperate you are at the job search is a red flag. No one will try to figure out the reasons why previous companies turned down your candidature. They will just do the same. Don’t emphasize how much you need a job in general. Instead, focus on the skills and qualifications you possess and why you are good for this particular one.
Without having an understanding of what the company produces and what values it manifests, you will look unprofessional. Even if you have already sent out 99 resumes and feel slightly tired of exploring, make sure to do the homework again and figure out what your next interviewers are dealing with.
Recruiters don’t judge if you understand some of the duties differently or have your own approach to certain problems. Basically, this is one of the reasons why they would rather hire you. Diversity of thoughts and experience improves productivity and helps the company broaden its horizons. Hiring managers appreciate flexibility and readiness to adapt to the new working environment. However, adjusting to something you barely understand is a difficult task.
Besides that, being desperate about your job choice creates a tricky situation where your future employers could easily manipulate your salary expectations and impose on you more duties than expected.
Looking completely indifferent about the new career opportunity discourages potential employers. Usually, candidates are chasing the vacancies, not the other way round. Playing hard to get the position is quite a risky strategy. It can pay off. However, in most cases, such behaviour just pushes people away. Arrogant and cocky candidates annoy recruiters. HR specialists advise it’s better to show you appreciate the vacancy. Just do it within reasonable limits.
If candidates barely understand what tasks they will carry out and what goals the company aims to achieve, their chances to get the offer decrease. People who don’t even bother searching for the most general information about the vacancy looks unprofessional and disrespectful.
Very few people don’t feel nervous before interviews. If you are one of them, skip this paragraph! If not, practice different ways to calm down and figure out which ones work the best for you. Here we would like to draw your attention to the tricky situations when candidates betray their fear or look distracted.
Recruiters share their experience of interviewing millennials and zoomers who could start scrolling their Instagram feed in the middle of the conversation. Some candidates smoke or react to smartphone notifications. Someone even tries to talk and do other tasks simultaneously.
Although we live in the digital era, such things are still completely acceptable because candidates and interviewers have to show mutual respect towards each other. The issue of getting distracted by external factors is especially pressing during online interviews. People tend to feel more relaxed and forget they actually have a formal and serious conversation.
Another factor one shouldn’t ignore: avoid repetitive nervous moves. By cracking knuckles, putting your rings on and off, running fingers through hair, clicking a pen candidates show they struggle to calm down. Specialists admit it takes time to get rid of such habits. Yet, if you manage to take full control over your body, it will serve as a strong non-verbal sign to the hiring managers.
Sometimes HR specialists prefer hiring people with less relevant experience or lack of some knowledge. The reason behind this decision is simple: such candidates will feel more excited and inspired by the new position. They learn new things and improve their skills. The readiness to tackle challenges is a huge advantage for employers. On the other hand, people who are comfortable with doing the same things over and over again make the wrong impression. They seem to be less interested in personal and professional growth.
Overqualified specialists are likely to quit the job sooner than expected. HR managers will think twice before nominating someone who might leave the company in a couple of months. If you clearly see the set of tasks is easy and monotonous for you, try something else. At the end of the day, by doing the same things you will end up with the same outcome.
Making mistakes is a part of human nature. You can’t prepare solutions for all possible situations during the interview. Apart from those, we mentioned, there are many more mistakes which could stand in the way of your success. However, forewarned, forearmed. Don’t give up and work on yourself.
