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25 Interview Killers

Yes, your resume tells the most about your background, education and experience, but how you behave in the interview can make or break your career. A job interview is your chance to leave a positive first impression that is sure to win you a job offer. Many candidates walk in and out of interview rooms leaving memorable negative impressions that, no matter how good their resume looked, they lose! 


Everyone's telling you what you should do in an interview, but they forget to point out what you shouldn't do.  Make sure you never  make any of the following mistakes!


Your General Attitude

  1. Come late to the interview.
  2. Be as arrogant, overaggressive and conceited as possible. Insist on having a know-it-all attitude.
  3. Don't be confident in yourself.
  4. Project a poor personal appearance.
  5. Avoid looking the interviewer in the eye.
  6. Don't shake hands with the interviewer.
  7. Answer questions with either yes, no or I don't know.
  8. Be intolerant and show strong prejudices against others.
  9. Don't articulate yourself clearly, have a poor voice and use lousy grammar.
  10. Show unwillingness to work after official hours.
  11. Don't be tactful and be blunt about everything.
  12. Be unwilling to start at the bottom; expect too much.
  13. Refuse to work in a team.
  14. Don't show appreciation for interviewer's time.

    Handling Questions and Answers
  15. Fail to handle stress questions.
  16. Don't tolerate any criticism.
  17. Don't give enough details about experience and past employment.
  18. Immediately ask how many vacation days or holidays you'll have.
  19. Inquire about salary early on in the interview.
  20. Ask for more money than what the position is really worth.
  21. Show your ignorance of the company history and achievements.
  22. Never bring a pencil or pen to fill out the job application.
  23. Reflect your lack of planning for your career goals.
  24. Make excuses, and be vague at every possible occasion.
  25. Condemn past employers and mention how your boss was mean to you.  


Related article:
What You Can and Can't Ask

 

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