Podcast 6: How to avoid common interview mistakes

Are you aware of the most common interview mistakes that could cost you the job? Listen to this podcast  to find out what these mistakes are, and how you can avoid making them.

Podcast notes:

What are the three most damaging interview mistakes you see job seekers commonly make? How can these be avoided?

• Firstly I’d say – not doing the research. This will be obvious if the candidate can’t tell the interviewer what they know about the company when asked or if they ask questions at the end of the interview which they could have looked up previously themselves. Questions like, “Who are your key competitors?” or “What are your most successful products?” are all things the candidate should have found out prior to the interview.
• Not having any questions to ask about the opportunity, or the organisation during or at the end of the interview is a big mistake. You should come prepared with positively phrased interview questions that demonstrate your enthusiasm and interest in the opportunity. For example, “How has this role evolved?” or “What’s your favourite aspect of working for this company?” Make sure you listen out during the interview for answers to these questions though, because if these have been answered throughout the interview, you’ll want to have back-ups just in case for the end.
• Not supporting your answers with examples and, where possible tangible results. If asked about a particular skill set or competency, mention the skill and then give an example of a time you demonstrated this using the STAR technique.

Read more: 6 common interview mistakes to avoid

How can candidates calm their nerves before the interview?

• If there is something in particular playing on your mind or making you feel nervous about the interview, talk to your recruiter about it, they’ll do their best to answer any questions or put your mind at rest.
• Practice answering some common interview questions out loud and, even better, talk to someone else if possible. This will help you feel more comfortable when talking about yourself to others in the interview room.
• Give yourself a pep talk, remind yourself of all of your achievements and remember that the interviewer must be keen on you or they wouldn’t have asked you in for an interview. Try to visualise positive outcomes and try to cut out any negative self-talk ahead of the interview.
• Power posing can be really helpful to reduce stress levels and increasing confidence. Take a couple of minutes before an interview to adjust your posture, and either stand or sit in a powerful position, for example, putting your hands on your hips, keeping your chin out, and your chest up for a few minutes before an interview. This can have a real impact on reducing your stress levels and confidence levels.

Read more: Change your thinking and calm your interview nerves

Is it a mistake for candidates to ask about salary during the interview?

Salary and reward shouldn’t be your priority at this stage of the recruitment process, especially not at a first round interview. This interview is your chance to explore the role, scope the career progression opportunities, and cultural fit.  Asking about salary right off the bat could seem a little presumptuous and you could run the risk of showing that you’re motivated by money alone. We would advise you leave this conversation for later down the line, and negotiate the subject of remuneration packages via your  recruiter, because that is what they’re equipped to do.

Read more: The worst questions to ask your interviewer

Sometimes situations are out of our control – for instance bad traffic might mean the candidate is running late for their interview. How should candidates deal with this effectively?

Firstly, you need to give yourself more than enough time to account for unexpected delays, because being late for an interview is a really big red flag for most interviewers. However, the reality of life is there might be circumstances where you are running late. If this happens, phone your recruiter and ask them to apologise to the interviewer on your behalf. Then it’s really important that once you get to the interview, apologise sincerely, inform the hiring manager that this isn’t a reflection of day-to-day timekeeping, but resist the urge to reel off a list of excuses about why you are late. Apologise politely and then move on with the interview.

Read more: 14 things to do before your job interview

The Managing Director of Hays Belgium, Robby Vanuxem, said in our podcast that ‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail’ – I’m sure everyone knows this to be true but do you think it is possible to over-prepare?

• Preparation is vital, especially when it comes to what you plan to say in the interview; from what you know about the organisation, to why you think you are a good fit for the role.
• However, you know you have overdone it if you find yourself planning what you’re going say word for word. Instead of writing things out word for word, or planning responses out word for word, write down some key bullet points that you can talk about during the interview. The interview needs to be conversational, not scripted. If you do script out responses, you run the risk of trying to lead the interview into covering the questions you’ve prepared for, rather than answering the questions that you’ve been asked in that interview.

Read more: 10 interview preparation tips you’ve not heard of before

Many job seekers make mistakes in interviews that they don’t even realise they are making. Can you give any examples of these?

• Poor body language is one of the most common things. So sitting back in your chair could make you appear aloof. Not making eye contact and not smiling during an interview can suggest poor interpersonal skills. If you’ve got your arms crossed during the interview, you may be coming across as defensive.
• Unprofessional language. Swearing, or using slang are big no-nos, but also being overly familiar, are all in my bad book. This could indicate that you may rub stakeholders up the wrong way as well, and may make the interviewer feel potentially concerned about you joining their organisation.
• Rambling on and not giving clear, or concise answers. The STAR technique is a great technique to help you to keep your answers concise, plus practising your interview answers as part of your preparation will help you. Before you respond to a question, it’s important to pause, take a moment to think about what you plan to say, and how to structure your answer.  If you do find yourself going off track, take a breath, remember the question, summarise your main points and then stop talking.

Read more: 6 ways to show your interviewer that you really want the job

A common interview question often asked is why you left, or why are you thinking about leaving your previous employer. Is it a mistake to talk negatively about your previous employer and how would you recommend candidates respond best to this question when asked?

• It is most definitely a mistake to make negative comments about a current or previous employer. Whatever happened, avoid speaking badly about them in the interview. This only serves to put you in a bad light. Some interviewers could see this as  unprofessional, and it could raise alarm bells for them about the candidates conduct throughout the employment.
• Focus on the positive aspects of the company or opportunity that you have moved onto, or the role that you are interviewing for, as opposed to being negative about why you left a previous employer, or why you are planning on leaving your current employer.

Read more: 10 ways to build a rapport with your interviewer

What’s the best piece of careers advice you’ve ever been given?

• Don’t be afraid to take risks or challenge the norm. It is going to inevitably lead to making mistakes along the way, but making a mistake, and learning from it is one of the best ways to develop professionally, as well as personally.

Looking for more interview tips? Then you may find our previous podcast episodes to be helpful: