Five Ways to Get Knocked Out of Your Next Interview
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Interviews are all aboutconversations. A job offer rests on how well you answer and ask questions,follow-up on comments and get your thoughts across clearly. Your physicalappearance matters, of course, as well as body language. You can do well there,but you can blow it all as soon as you open your mouth. Here are five ways yourconversation style can knock you out of a job:
1. Indecision. You get a tough question andsoon you’re doing a quick tap dance, trying to cover both sides of thequestion. Or worse, you are stumped with no answer at all. When you get atough question, don’t say, “I’m not sure how to answer that.” Take a moment tothink, and then give your best answer. Or, if it’s a situation that wouldrequire some investigation, you can say you would have to do some research and then make a decision.
2. Putting yourself down. When describing theaward your team won for productivity, don’t say your contribution, “… was nobig deal.” Or that you were the team leader, “…because I got the short straw.”Don’t say you were “…just the administrative assistant (front desk agent, chiefoperator…)” Take out the word “just.” If you don’t think much of your positionor contributions, why should anyone else?
3. Rambling. This is the kiss of death foran interview. People who ramble usually don’t have a clue what they are talkingabout, are unable to organize their thoughts, or just love to hear themselvestalk. Stay on track, and be sure you answer the question. I’ve hadapplicants ramble on for a few minutes and then ask, “What was the questionagain?” Duh. If you can’t remember a simple question, you need to lookelsewhere.
4. Introducing inappropriate topics. They say youshould avoid conversations about politics and religion. Add to that your (andothers’) personal health problems, finances, jerk of a spouse (or kids), yourmiserable ex-boss, anything of a sexual nature and physical attributes ofothers. Some people mistake small talk and building rapport with status updateson their Facebook wall. How many drinks you had last night or your hot date arenot topics for a job interview.
5. Profanity. Even if the interviewer is swearinglike a sailor, keep your conversation clean. It could be a trap, meant to seehow you handle a difficult situation. Mirroring the person you talk to is atechnique to build rapport and put people at ease, but not in this case.Someone once told me a gentleman (or woman) doesn’t have to use profanity,because they have a better vocabulary. Choose your words well.
What other speech habits have you noticed that make a person a“conversation lightweight?” Share your experiences in the Comments sectionbelow.
Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a consultant, blogger, motivational speakerand freelance writer for communicationsjobs.net. Based inSavannah, GA, her work has appeared in Training magazine, Training &Development magazine, Supervision, BiS Magazine and The Savannah Morning News.When she’s not writing, she enjoys singing with the Savannah PhilharmonicChorus and helping clients reinvent their careers for today’s job market. Youcan read more of her blogs at communicationsjobsblog.com andview additional job postings on Beyond.com.