How to behave in an interview
Hooray, you’ve been invited to an interview! Surely, when you heard about it for the first time, you felt joy. However, in a while, positive emotions begin to give way to anxiety, and the thought of how to behave in an interview does not go out of your head. Let’s find out about the most common mistakes at the interview.
List of the most common mistakes
Oddly enough, we will start with “bad advice” – with examples of how to behave. Statistics show that most job seekers tend to make the same mistakes at the interview. What’s the best way to avoid them? That’s right – to know the enemy by sight.
- Being late
How many times has the world been told that being late for an interview is a mortal sin for any applicant, but no! Recruiters complain that a potential employee was late or didn’t show up at all. But this is not so bad – some time after the “failed” interview, such applicants begin to call with a proposal to transfer the meeting or with questions about “future” work.
- Silly questions and carelessness
It sometimes happens that applicants show miracles of stupidity, shortsightedness and inattention. Most often this manifests itself in curious questions and no less curious answers to them. For example, one girl applying for a secretary position at a stationery company asked to let her go home after work half an hour earlier than the time agreed, because she wanted to be home in time to watch her favorite series. She did not hesitate to inform the general director about this, who talked to her and, of course, she did not receive the position.
- Escort
Another mistake in the long list of job seekers’ failures. Some of them come to interviews accompanied by mom, dad, husband or friends. To say that this is discouraging is to say nothing. Let’s tell you a story: a girl came to get a job as a sales manager in an organization that offers long distance communication services. But she did not come alone, but with her husband. And this same husband immediately declared that he did not accept overwork, announced the amount of salary he was interested in and inquired about the age of the boss. It took the recruiter twenty minutes to persuade him to go out of the door and give the opportunity to talk to his wife in private.
Such situations periodically happen to yesterday’s university graduates. It is not worth reminding that a serious company after such a show will not even continue the conversation with you, because such attendants are clearly speaking about the inadequacy of the applicant and his lack of independence. In addition, will she then go to work with her husband by hand too?
- The desire to look cold-blooded and indifferent
So, from “recruiting fiction” we are moving on to less obvious and even more dangerous mistakes of job seekers. One of them is indifference and composure – this is when we try to look calm, businesslike and self-confident, and as a result we turn into “snow queens”. Remember, employers are not interested in such candidates! All this looks boring and unnatural, and if not, it may seem that you don’t really care about the proposed position. The interviewer understands that excitement is a completely natural and understandable thing, but the lack of enthusiasm and inspiration can turn him off.
- Negative feedback about previous employers or clients
Sometimes giving a bad opinion of a former boss – especially if he was a competitor to the organization interviewing you this time – can be like a knight’s move. But don’t be fooled – in ninety-nine percent of cases, a negative characterization in the address of the previous chef will negate all your efforts to please a potential employer.
First, it portrays you as a quarrelsome and conflicted person. Secondly, the employer is afraid that if you do not have a business relationship, you will also speak about him in public. And nobody wants that. Therefore, he will probably prefer to ignore your candidacy and take on someone less vindictive.
- Telling about personal problems
Sometimes it happens that a recruiter at an interview asks about his personal life: marital status, interests, plans. However, in this case, he has a very specific interest – to assess your overall success, the stability of your personal life, and he does not expect you to tell him about all your ins and outs. For example, about how you had a fight with a young man because he gave you the wrong flowers for your anniversary. He does not need this information at all, and after this he will consider you an eccentric and narrow-minded person.
There are situations when the interviewer really crosses the line and starts asking overly personal questions. In this case, behave with restraint and calmly ask why he needs such information – it is possible that this is just another test for stress resistance. If such questions continue, you have the right not to answer.
- Inattention to the words of the interlocutor
Of course, this is not such an obvious “mistake” as being late or insulting a former boss. But for many recruiters, inattention is also a reason to refuse an applicant. And who will like a person who endlessly clarifies and asks what was discussed earlier? An inattentive worker is more likely to make mistakes and not be able to communicate with people. Therefore, during the interview, you should focus on the person conducting it, and not on what products to buy for dinner.
- Refusal to participate in testing
Applicants are very often frightened of possible tests: they think that as a result of such events some of their secrets will emerge. Some are so afraid of this that they completely refuse to fill out any surveys. This is fundamentally wrong, as it creates the feeling that you are hiding something or are simply sabotaging the recruiter’s work.
Of course, during testing, the interviewer may discover something that you did not talk about. But this is not the main goal! The main task of testing is to provide the employer with objective information. And if you tried to be honest and objective in assessing your qualities, then the tests will not show anything “like that”.
- The same answers. Patterns from the internet
The Internet is replete with a variety of guides on the topic “How to behave in an interview and get a top manager position without knowing how to do anything.” Of course, we are exaggerating, but in most of these manuals, all the recommendations are stereotyped and the same. Recruiters are already sick of people whose only negative trait is “being hardworking”. This suggests that the person has not even tried to tell about himself – he just stupidly retold the advice read on the Internet. Will he get the job? Most likely no.
So everything is clear with mistakes. But many issues remain open regarding the behavior of the applicant during the interview: what to say, how to speak, when and what actions to accompany all this. Some people still don’t understand what to tell about themselves and what to keep quiet about. Let’s try to figure it out.
“What rate of speech should I choose?”
When meeting with an employer, we often think about how quickly we should talk about ourselves. It should be noted that there is no right answer to this question, and it very often depends on the temperament of the person conducting the interview, as well as on its format.
But the most advantageous, as usual, is the “golden mean” option: take into account all the specifics of the situation and speak calmly and to the point. You should not “rumble” like a machine gun or slowly chew words – this may be perceived by the recruiter as a lack of self-presentation skills or even as inadequacy.
“To lie or not to lie?”
Of course, our mother taught each of us from childhood that lying is very bad. However, as we matured, we realized that telling the truth is sometimes even worse. For example, if, when asked about leaving your previous job, you tell about a boorish boss, this will not bring you prize points. That is why, answering some questions, it is better to embellish reality a little. But lying about your interests, plans for life, knowledge and skills is not worth it – there is a high risk that the secret will become apparent.
“How to behave during testing?”
Many organizations now use testing as an objective method of evaluating candidates for vacancies. How to behave to get a job? To the maximum sincerely. This is not a joke – in many tests there are so-called “lie scales”, which are quite complex and sensitive to deception. And it is best not to try to understand what is behind this or that question, but to calmly and honestly answer it. If your qualities meet the requirements of the employer, you will be hired, if not, it’s okay, on the contrary, it’s good that you didn’t waste time on the wrong job for you.
“How to emphasize your merits?”
Tell us about your achievements at the previous place of work: what projects have you completed, what was your contribution to the common cause, etc. … But this is not the most important thing. It is much more important to show your merits in real time in front of a recruiter.
For example, you claim that your strongest quality is stress tolerance, and suddenly there is a stressful situation in the interview. If you cry or get confused, the recruiter will think you are exaggerating. But if you behave confidently and with dignity, you will find a non-standard way out of the situation – this will be the best demonstration of your advantages.
“How to answer the question about the shortcomings?”
Often the applicants are asked about negative qualities, since it is clear that everyone has them. However, this is not a reason to tell the recruiter what a bad person you are, or, conversely, to convince him that you are a superwoman. But it’s also not worth talking about the fact that your biggest drawback – an uncontrollable desire to work – no one believes in it anymore.
We suggest the following trick: when talking about your disadvantages, mention your real, but not the most terrible qualities and tell how you manage to overcome them or turn them into advantages.
Let’s summarize
So, let’s try to summarize all the information given above. In a job interview, it’s best to act calmly and confidently while thinking about what you say and do. Try to keep to a middle pace of talking- not too fast and not too slow, and best of all, adjust to the interlocutor. Use moderate gestures as this adds liveliness to your words, but don’t overdo.
When talking about yourself, focus on those of your features that are interesting and beneficial to the employer. Be honest and don’t lie – just try to emphasize the positive. Talk about your achievements – this is convincing the “client” – the employer to purchase the “product” – your services. Don’t interrupt the recruiter – let him lead the interview.
Good luck!
