Once you have been selected for a job interview, it’s important to prepare properly Successful interviewing is essential to getting a job offer. That means practicing interview questions and answers, dressing in appropriate interview attire, and, being able to present your skills and experience to a prospective employer.
Job-seekers do end up making some common mistakes during interviews that ultimately reduce their chances of getting hired. So, here’s what you can do to avoid those major goof ups when you go for an interview:
Errors in your resume
Nothing kills a resume faster than typo errors or wrong spellings. Such errors create an impression of carelessness and sloppiness in the minds of an interviewer. So always double-check your resume before you hand it over to the interviewer. Also remember that your resume isn’t a document to go gaga on your personal attributes or achievements. It’s a document that should just be describing your qualifications, skills and work experience. So learn to be precise.
Arriving late
Never be late for your job interview, because it’s never excusable, trust us! We suggest you rather arrive 10 minutes early so that you have the time to settle in and ease your frayed nerves.
The wrong dress code
Always dress for an interview keeping in mind the kind of post you have applied for. For instance if you’ve applied for a executive post, make sure you wear formals or for a post at a junior level you could wear formals with a tie. A nice belt and shoes are good additions. But it’s always better to dress a little conservatively than you normally do. Also avoid loud jewelry, bright colors and garish makeup. Showing an extra inch of cleavage or legs is also considered inappropriate.
Avoid one-liners
There are some mandatory questions you should be prepared to answer like: (1) What kind of work were you doing in your previous job (2) Why do you think should we hire you? What better can you do for the company? (3) What are your strengths and weaknesses? (4) What are your salary expectations, etc. So be prepared for these questions in advance. Make yourself comfortable enough so that you can elaborate briefly on your experience, skills, and background. Don’t reply back in “yes” or “no.” One-liners are conversation stoppers.
Poor body language
Remember that body language always speaks louder than words. At times an interviewer may pay more attention to how you react to a particular question than what you actually say. So never ever:
* Slouch in your chair: It leaves a wrong impression about you.
* Avoid eye contact: We are not asking you to stare at the interviewer like a psycho, but at least don’t look elsewhere while answering to the interviewers. Instead look into his/her eyes and reply, it shows how confident you are.
* Sit with your hands crossed: This body posture may force the interviewer to think that you’re not comfortable or that you’ve got a wavering mind. If you do not know what to do with your hands, just fold them and rest your hands on your lap.
* Interrupt the interviewer: This clearly shows how over-confident or arrogant you are.
Do all this and there are 90 percent chances you are not going to be hired.
