» 11 Ways to Fail in Interviews

In the current economic climate there is growing uncertainty about job security, with many companies more likely to lay people off than hire them.

Interviews can be difficult experiences, and not just for the candidate. If you’re job seeking, make sure you avoid these common interview mistakes:

Applying For a Job You Don’t Really Want

A company wants to know that you actually want to work for them, you’ve not just stuck a pin in the paper and applied for whatever job it landed on. And you should want to work for them. Even if you’re out of work you should still make sure you’re applying for things you are positive about doing, not just anything to earn some money.

If you don’t really want the job you’re less likely to prepare for the interview, and it will show.

And if you somehow succeeded in getting a job that you didn’t really want to do, chances are it wouldn’t work out and you’d be looking again before long. Everyone loses.

Knowing Nothing About the Company You’ve Applied to Work For

A vital part of interview preparation is background research on the company (you should have done this before you even applied for the job). You may be asked a direct question about the company in your interview, and if you can’t show any knowledge of their business, it is likely to count against you. The internet can make research much easier, as can trade journals and local press. Even the reception area while you’re waiting for your interview can be a source of information and inspiration. You may then be able to frame a good question based on what you’ve just read.

Misunderstanding the Job You’ve Applied For

A couple of years ago I was part of a panel interviewing for a post that involved developing links with local employers. The organization I worked for was mainly involved in finding work for young people, and many of the candidates had automatically assumed the job would involve working directly with these job seekers, and lots of 1:1 contact. They couldn’t have been more wrong (as they should have known from the job description they had been sent) but even when we tried to steer some of them back on course, they still didn’t get it. Nor did they get the job.

Making Assumptions About the Interview Process

I’ve been involved in interview processes where we asked all candidates the same questions, and scored their answers. We weren’t allowed to refer to their application forms, nor could we take into account anything we knew about internal candidates. This was supposed to provide an impartial, level playing field for everyone.

Many internal candidates assumed they didn’t have to tell us things we already knew, and external candidates sometimes assumed that if they’d put it on their application form, they didn’t need to repeat it in interview. Wrong, so wrong. Sometimes we were desperate for a candidate to tell us about a particular experience so we could include it in their answer, but they didn’t, and telepathy never seems to work in interviews.

I’ve also spoken to people who tried to second-guess what the company wanted (so didn’t apply for jobs they were suited to because they assumed they didn’t stand a chance) and what the interviewers were wanting to hear, and answer accordingly, so they didn’t say everything that could have been to their advantage.

Yes, the interviewers have an idea of what they’re looking for, but unless you’ve a successful track record in mind reading you don’t know what this is. And it could be quite different to what you’re thinking. They might not be looking for a close replica of the person they’re trying to replace…they could be looking for fresh ideas and a new angle…they could be looking for a certain skill set or experience to take the role in a different direction…they could be looking for a personality type…

So don’t assume. Accept that you’ve got through to interview, which is no mean feat when there’s lots of competition, and keep an open mind. Take the approach that the interviewers have just landed from another planet, and you need to give them full, extensive but relevant answers to their questions based on the assumption that they know absolutely nothing about you.

Trying to Answer a Question That You Don’t Understand

Then waffle on for 5 minutes of more, painfully dancing all around the subject but never quite hitting it full on. If you don’t understand the question, ask for clarification. If it’s a long question, have it repeated. If you’re not sure whether you’ve hit the spot ask if you’ve answered satisfactorily and, if not, what other areas you need to cover.

If you see the interviewers looking distracted, or they’ve stopped writing where they were scribbling furiously on earlier questions, or they’re trying to make eye contact with one another without you seeing, chances are you’re off on the wrong track. Don’t be afraid to stop and ask.

Starting to Answer Before You’ve Got Your Thoughts Together

Interviews are stressful and there’s a tendency for candidates to want to answer as soon as the questioner has finished speaking. Nut if you do this you might not answer very well.

Try to relax. Listen attentively to the question, and as noted above, ask for clarification or explanation of anything you don’t understand.

Then take a few seconds to think about the question and frame your answer in your mind. Start to answer once you’ve done this and you’ll be in much better control. If there are lots of points you want to cover you might want to jot prompts down on a piece of paper so you don’t forget them – make sure you ask if it’s okay to do this.

Failing to Make Eye Contact

Have you ever had a conversation with someone whose eyes were everywhere except on you? Or someone who looked down at their lap all the time they were talking?

As an interviewer it’s very uncomfortable, and also distracting, making it less likely you’ll concentrate fully on what’s being said.

You shouldn’t stare people out, but you should try to make regular eye contact, and hold it for a couple of seconds at least. If you are being interviewed by a large panel you may feel you need to keep looking at all of them. Always focus on the person who is asking you the question, and address your answer to them.

Don’t be afraid to look away or look down while you’re thinking, then bring your focus back when you start to talk.

Trying to Pass Someone Else’s Work Off as Your Own

Sometimes we asked candidates to do presentations as part of the interview. I remember a particularly embarrassing instance where someone was using material that he was so unfamiliar with that it obviously wasn’t his own idea. And when we started to ask questions about it, he was totally out of his depth.

It’s easy to spot when something doesn’t sound, or feel, quite right. And it’s easy to catch people out.
Similarly it’s easy to spot if someone has been coached, because as soon as they are asked things in detail they start to flounder.

This doesn’t mean you can’t seek help from other people, maybe to give you ideas for a presentation, or to give you information and insight into the company or the role. But you must make sure you ‘process’ this information or help, so that what you present at interview is your own efforts. You’ll be expected to deliver on your own efforts when it comes to doing the job, after all.

Embellishing the Truth

The interview is your opportunity to sell yourself, but remember that if you’re successful you’ve got to deliver. It’s important that you present your skills and experiences in the best light, but don’t take it too far and start making claims that aren’t true. Sooner or later you will be found out.

Maybe there is someone on the interview panel who attended the event you claim you were involved in, and asks you pertinent questions. Or there could be a panel member who is experienced in something you claim to know a lot about, and who quickly realizes that your knowledge is superficial at best.

If there is any doubt about claims you have made, be sure that these will be checked out further, and if the doubts are upheld you not only fail to get the job, you damage your reputation.

Keep Talking About The Past

Obviously you need to relate your skills and experience to the new position, and use examples from your past. But don’t make the mistake of one candidate who just couldn’t translate past experiences into future possibilities and answered every question from the point of view of how he would deal with this if he was still in his past job, not how he might approach it in his next one.

If your prospective employer can’t visualize you in the role because you can’t visualize yourself in it, you’re not likely to get a chance to see if it could work out.

Not Knowing How Much – or How Little – To Say

Some candidates are almost tongue-tied, answering questions as briefly as they can, despite encouragement and prompting. Then there are candidates who seem to forget themselves and keep on talking, long after they’ve made their point, often talking themselves straight through a positive impression into a negative one.

You need to say enough to make sure you’ve given a comprehensive answer to a question, but not so much that the interviewers fall asleep. Watch for signs of irritation, boredom and checking watches.

There’s no magic wand that can guarantee success in interviews, but if you avoid the mistakes above you’ll be giving yourself a good chance. Find more tips on successful job seeking in these articles on the facedestiny website: Successful Jobsearch, Cover Letters, Application Forms