{"id":158,"date":"2014-07-31T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T11:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/that-all-important-job-interview-10-ways-to-blow-it"},"modified":"2014-11-13T12:08:34","modified_gmt":"2014-11-13T12:08:34","slug":"that-all-important-job-interview-10-ways-to-blow-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/that-all-important-job-interview-10-ways-to-blow-it","title":{"rendered":"That All-Important Job Interview, 10 Ways to blow it"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Job candidates with excellent credentials can occasionally fall for the fallacy that showing up at the interview and answering questions is all that is required to get a job offer.  <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span> <\/p>\n

Even if the company is recruiting you, it is important to realise that you can easily blow your chances if you do the following: <\/span>  <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1                <\/span><\/span>Act disinterested.<\/span><\/strong>  <\/span>You are expected to demonstrate curiosity and enthusiasm when you come to an interview. <\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2                  <\/span><\/span>Don’t do your homework.<\/span><\/strong>  <\/span>You can’t ask intelligent questions if you don’t know anything about the potential employer’s industry, operations and performance.  <\/span>A close look at the company’s annual report and Web site is an absolute minimum before the interview.  <\/span>Don’t ask questions that are plainly answered in these publications.  <\/span><\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3                  <\/span><\/span>Talk too much.<\/span><\/strong>  <\/span>When responding to a question or making a comment, get to the point.  <\/span>Nothing demonstrates your lack of self-confidence more than endless commentary that goes nowhere. <\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4                  <\/span><\/span>Talk too little. <\/span><\/strong> <\/span>You are expected to be an active participant in the interview, not simply a head-nodder.  <\/span>One-word answers brand you as uninterested, nervous or uppity. <\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

5                    <\/span>Display bad manners.  <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

6              <\/span><\/span> <\/span>Run down your current or past employer.<\/span><\/strong>  <\/span>Badmouthing your present boss is perhaps the ultimate interview offense.  <\/span>Recruiters and employers know that if you air your dirty laundry about your current company, you’re likely to be unhappy in your next position as well.  <\/span>Even If you’re convinced your boss is a criminal, stick to your own accomplishments and the company’s resulting performance when discussing your current situation. <\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

7 <\/span>                <\/span>Take credit for things you didn’t do.  <\/span><\/strong><\/span>While it’s important to explain you role in accomplishing results, don’t overstate your authority or responsibility.  <\/span>Anything you claim to have done will be thoroughly checked with current or former colleagues, clients or bosses.  <\/span>And avoid saying “I” as much as possible.  <\/span>No one in a corporate environment does things single-handedly. <\/strong><\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

8                   <\/span>Hide holes in your resumes.  <\/span><\/strong><\/span>Periods of unemployment, dates and degrees are all simple to detect.  <\/span>Address resume gaps or other potential concerns directly and have a good explanation about why they made sense and what you learned from them. <\/strong><\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

9              <\/span><\/span>  <\/span>Show lack of confidence in the prospective employer.  <\/span><\/span><\/strong>It is ok to express concerns about some aspect of the potential employer’s strategy, product line or operations – particularly if you can suggest another approach that works better.  <\/span>But don’t let the interview devolve into a critique session.  <\/span>Employers want managers who are excited by opportunities, not dismissive of past mistakes. <\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

10            <\/span><\/span>Negotiate too early.<\/span><\/strong>  <\/span>If you raise the issue of renumeration, it’s clear to recruiters and employers that your primary interest is money, not opportunity.  <\/span>Wait until they bring up the topic, and don’t negotiate during the interview.  <\/span>Take a day to formulate your response.  <\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Debbie O’Halloran<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Job candidates with excellent credentials can occasionally fall for the fallacy that showing up at the interview…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236,"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions\/236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caribbeanjobs.com\/careeradvice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}