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The 6 Deadly Job Interview Sins
Congratulations your CV or Resume has got you noticed. You get the call, letter or e-mail inviting you for interview. Success is one step closer or a whole lot further away if you commit one of the following 6 deadly interview sins.
Deadly Sin 1: Being Late
Yes sometimes the unexpected happens. A major road is closed or the rail network grinds to a halt. On the other hand with a bit of forward planning and leaving sufficient extra time you can greatly reduce the possibility of this being an issue.
Deadly Sin 2: Being Critical
Of course potential employers want to know about your past roles and especially your most recent role. They want to understand what you like and dislike. At the same time they don’t want you to be criticising the organisation, your boss and colleagues. That is just being disloyal and will set alarm bells ringing.
Deadly Sin 3: Not Knowing About the Organisation
The question what do you know about our organisation is almost a certain as Christmas day being on the 25th of December each year. Yet people still turn up with a sparse answer. 30 years ago that was okay but not now in the digital world where information is so freely available.
Deadly Sin 4: Not Knowing What You Can Offer
I never ever ceased to be amazed how much professional people struggle to talk about what they would bring to the organisation. Now I know professional people are often introverted but that does not mean you cannot speak up and sell what you can offer.
Deadly Sin 5: Being Poorly Prepared
If someone came to you and asked you to invest tens of thousands of pounds or dollars would you not ask a few questions and expect some good answers before saying yes? Of course you would yet candidates still turn up for interviews having done minimal or no preparation.
Deadly Sin 6: Not Being In The Zone
The interview starts the minute you walk into the door. You need to view the initial contact with the receptionist or the first person who greets you as if they were the MD or Chairman. Many candidates blow their chances by be rude or not making a good initial impact. Being in the zone from the start reduces the risk.
The Bottom Line: The decision to interview and hire someone is a major investment decision for the recruiter. View it in this way and you will go a long way towards being more successful and avoiding common mistakes.
Duncan Brodie helps professional people to achieve more career success. He invites you to check out his free audio masterclass
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.