Below are some of the common mistakes in job interviews and tips on how to avoid them
Mobile Phones!
The first thing to say is to make sure your phone is on silent and not vibrating through an interview. It happens – a lot and is an unbelievably bad look when you should be concentrating on the interview. Although I hear regular stories where the interviewer is distracted by their phone sadly.
If this is a remote interview - the same rule applies as you can hear it vibrating if nearby.
Lack of research
A manager recently told me of an interview when a candidate from within the same broader organisation had not researched this platform’s particular content. Asked if they had watched the channel they said ‘no’. That is really where the interview ended and the candidate was ruled out. Really basic stuff. Always be prepared and research the company, the content and the audience being targeted.
You should also research the hiring manager or recruiter. Knowing a bit about their career could be useful for the interview and showing this indicates you have invested more in the process.
I always tell clients to take a notebook with researched bullet points written down. You can then use this for reference during the interview.
Getting too personal
I once had a candidate arrive at the interview room without being invited, because they already worked within the organisation and knew the location. This overstepped the boundaries of the interview process as we were not ready for them. Being over familiar or too friendly can set you back. The use of humour needs to be well judged. Too often when nervous people make jokes that do not work (see below for one of my own examples!)
Negativity
I once told a hiring manager I had taken the day off sick for the interview and may have to duck on the way out, so my current employer did not see me. I also spent time criticising my current role. Combining the humour I have warned about above with being negative about your current job is bad. When the interviewer asks about your reason for leaving your current or previous employer, it is not an invitation for you to complain. Instead find a ‘positive’ reason to be looking for a next step.
Dress code
I always tell clients it is really difficult to over dress for an interview, but extremely easy to under dress. No one will ever reject you because you wore a suit when smart casual will ‘have done’. In media, suits are often not needed, but being smart and not looking like you are going out for the night is key.
With virtual interviews adopt the same approach as in person, even if they cannot see the bottom half. Getting your mind into professional mode is important - and that is harder if you are wearing pyjama bottoms.
Body language
How you sit can signal a lot of things. Sit with an upright posture, without crossing your arms and have good eye-contact with the interviewer or everyone on the panel.
Rambling answers
It is better to take a moment and think before answering if you are not sure. You can always ask for the question to be repeated. I was once told after an interview that I needed to ‘edit’ myself. I was basically talking too much. Get to the point but do not leave your answers too short and lacking detail.
Take a few seconds to think about the interview question before responding. Ensure you don’t go off on tangents.
Speaking clearly is obvious – whether in person or online – you need to be audible and not lose expression or volume in your answers.
It’s not all about you
Yes, this is the job you want and you want them to know about you BUT just like in an application, in the interview you must show an interest in the company and the people you will work with. This is also a chance to show you have done item 2 well – and researched the company and the job.
Having no questions to ask
This is a real killer at the end of an interview. If you are asked if you have any questions ALWAYS say yes and ask something insightful. Even if you really do think everything has been covered. Having no questions can suck the air out of a good interview and could be the difference between getting an offer or not.
I once had a great candidate who was very polished and assured but had nothing to say at the end of the interview in terms of questions. Other candidates with similar experience and skills did ask things – and they made it through to the next round, while the no questions candidate did not.
Try to avoid generic questions though. “What does a typical day look like?” or “What are the career prospects?” show very little imagination.
Lying
You must be honest. You will get found out.
Lateness
There are very few reasons that it is OK to be late for an interview. If there are mitigating circumstances, try and alert the company beforehand. Always plan to get to the location ahead of schedule, and find a coffee place or similar nearby to do some final prep.
For virtual job interviews, always test your technology beforehand as interviews can be on Teams, Zoom, Google Meet or others. Check all this before. Make sure you log in to the video call a little before the time.
After the interview......
Whatever you think of the interview and even if you come out thinking you do not want the job, send the recruiter a thank you email afterwards. Sending it within 24 hours is preferable. This is your chance to ask again when you might know about the role and whether you have progressed.
If you hear nothing after another six working days – send another email. Do this until you hear back. Too many organisations ghost candidates after an interview. Do not let them get away with not recognising the time and effort you have put in.
And finally, if you have an interview coming up. Good luck!
コメント