Learning what not to say in an interview can significantly boost your chances of getting hired. Make sure you’re not tanking your job prospects and check out the 7 things employers are sick of hearing at job interviews.
1. Acronyms as words
If you really want to wear your millennial badge on your sleeve, using phrases like “LOL” and “OMG” will reveal your immaturity and inexperience. It can be challenging to remove colloquial language from your vocabulary, but what’s harder is never finding a job. These spoken acronyms are fine among your friends, but during a job interview they undermine your professionalism and remind your potential employer just how young and inexperienced you are.
2. “Like…um…”
Little filler words and ticks may seem minor, but they can do some serious damage to how you’re perceived as a professional. Of course, completely ridding your speech of these words is impossible. However, it’s important to put some effort into minimizing use of this kind of language. These words will make you appear less confident and less professional overall. Try to do some practice interviews with family or friends where you use these words as little as possible.
3. Long, unrelated tangents
Expanding on an interview question is a great way to provide more detail and anecdotal evidence about your qualifications and experience. However, if your story isn’t directly related to a question you were asked or your work experience, it’s probably a waste of everybody’s time. Keep it professional.
4. Swear words
Cursing or lewd language is absolutely not recommended during a job interview. In general, swearing should occur outside of office premises. However, at an interview using a curse word is wildly inappropriate and reflects very poor judgment.
5. Negativity
Negative phrases like “I can’t”, “I don’t” and “I won’t” are a big red flag for hiring managers and recruiters. What most companies want is an individual who is positive, hardworking and willing to learn, even if they don’t have the exact skills required for the position. If you come in with a negative attitude or highlight things you don’t know how to do without expressing a willingness to grow, odds are you’re not going to get the job.
6. Interruptions
There is no circumstance in which interrupting your interviewer is appropriate – unless you’re about to throw up or you’re going through some sort of medical emergency. Showing respect for your interviewer is very important and interrupting them is the quickest way to lose their interest in you.
7. “I don’t have any weaknesses”
Employers almost always ask for some sort of honest answer about your weaknesses. These are consistently tough questions to answer because you’re expected to reveal something unflattering about yourself. However, the easiest way to blow this question is by avoiding it. Saying that you don’t have any weaknesses or are a perfectionist is going to make the hiring manager roll their eyes. Be honest (and brief) about your shortcomings but follow it up with what you’re doing to improve on these skills. Maybe talk about how you find public speaking difficult, but have taken on more communication tasks to tackle that weakness.
Apply today to boost your interview game by getting professional experience abroad.
Sources: Reddit
Photos
1. based on Manager for a Day, by FTTUB, CC-by-2.0
2. based on One Man Wave, by Mark Turnauckas, CC-by-2.0
3. based on Application – pen2, by Flazingo Photos, CC-by-2.0
