A Few Don’ts
First, let’s discuss a few things that you should never do, especially in a job interview situation.
- Do not bad-mouth ANYONE, even if the interviewer begins doing it. If a subject comes up, be it with a previous employer or even someone you don’t know, and it gets into the issue of being critical, do so as though the person about whom you were speaking was present. If the conversation becomes fixated on negatives, you turn the tide and start focusing on something positive.
- Don’t let good rapport get the best of you. If you appear to hit it off with the interviewer, just remember—he or she is not your friend. They may personally like you, but their primary interest is in finding the best person for the job
- Don’t be so eager to impress that you jump into answering questions too quickly or even interrupting the other person while they are speaking.
The Language of the Interview
As you may already know, job interviews are typically made up of some common questions. A mistake many people make in considering their answers is failing to understand the interviewer’s true purpose of the question.
In many ways, the interview has a language all its own. Every question asked is on the surface a mask of the real question lurking beneath. Here are a few common examples, which when taking the real question into account, you might have an easier time addressing, and more tailored to what the interviewer really wants to know.
“So, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” typically means “Why are you qualified for this position?”
This is a common, blanketed overall question to get the conversation going. Here is where some nervous people, in the interest of speeding through and getting this whole interview thing over with, may launch into their life story. Biographical facts are okay, such as birthplace, familial status, and work history, but nothing much more than that
Sharing experiences of your life may be okay, but only if they are to the point and are relevant to how you can benefit the company.
One thing to remember: it can help greatly if any statement made about your skills and accomplishments are backed up by real-life examples.
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The above is an excerpt from The Last Guide to Interviewing You'll Ever Need, which is available for sale for $17 in our bookstore or for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. Students know that good experiences helps to build a good resume and that good resumes help you land interviews, yet how many of us have been shown how to interview well so that we can get hired? Written by Keith F. Luscher specifically for the job hunting students who use CollegeRecruiter.com. To get hired, you must know how to interview well. Read this book and you will. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter. |
