Start by avoiding making the following job interview mistakes:
1. Failing To Do Your Research
Without research and understanding of the company, department and the job, you are unlikely to impress your interviewer. If you are a new college graduate and looking to enter a new company, one research approach is to check with your alumni association to see if any graduates work at the company. You can then meet with those people and get their advice. If you have no prior connections, imagine that you are onboarding yourself as a new hire. In that case, you will have to research the company’s annual report, how it makes money and other basic facts. Advanced Tip: To take your research to the next level, find the names of the people interviewing you and learn about them. Find out how long the manager has been with the company and why the company is hiring (e.g. expansion, replacing a lost individual or changing strategy).
2. Providing One Word Answers To Questions
A job interview is a relatively short meeting designed to assess you as a potential employee. If you are invited to an interview, the company’s managers think you have a reasonably promising fit. In the interview, they are looking to learn your approach to problems, how you communicate and whether you are a good fit for the company. Providing one word answers to interview questions provides little insight into your thought process. Even worse, such brief answers may be perceived as rude. Instead, use structure when answering interview questions to demonstrate your skills and knowledge. For example, use the problem, approach and result structure. If you are being asked about your approach to solving IT problems for customers, you could answer with the following structure: Problem: I faced the problem of an enterprise customer who could not place phone calls because the VOIP technology went offline. Approach: My approach to solving the problem started with the company’s standard checklist because that solves 80% of problems. Next, I asked to speak with the customer’s IT department. During that step, we identified the problem and had a solution in place in one hour. Result: My decision to go beyond the standard checklist meant that this problem was solved in less than 24 hours. Implementing a solution in this manner quickly resulted in a thank you email from one of the executives and the customer.
3. Failing To Bring Questions For The Interviewer
Showing your interest in the job and the company is essential to receiving a job offer, especially at a small company where you may interview with the CEO or founder. Showing your interest with a few well crafted questions is an excellent approach. Here are some guidelines on what to ask and what not to ask. What To Ask
Ask how success is measured in the role (e.g. do you have a sales quota? Are there established key performance criteria?) Ask about career progression within the department or company as a whole. Ask what kinds of results you could deliver in your first week on the job.
What Not To Ask Avoid asking about benefits during the interview. If needed, you can bring up this topic during salary negotiations.
4. Talking About Your Nerves
Talking about how nervous you are sends the wrong signal. At best, such comments distract the interviewer from learning about you as a candidate. At worst, the interviewer may comment or ask about your anxiety and make you feel worse. If facing anxiety is a concern for you in a job interview, look into stress management techniques to calm yourself. You can listen to a song that inspires you before you walk into the building, for example. Featured photo credit: Office/Unsplash via pixabay.com
