Top 3 Bad Things You Do in an Interview and Don’t Even Realize It
Many job seekers leave interviews thinking they did a great job and just to find out they didn’t get the job. It may have happened to you. You build a good rapport, feel strongly about your answers to questions and leave the interview feeling like you knocked it out of the park. When you don’t get the job, it is very hard to find out why.
In working with so many job seekers over the years, the “real” reasons you didn’t get the job may have nothing to do with your answers to questions. It just might be some little things that you were not even aware you were doing. Interviewing can be very hard for many, but if you really want to get the job, you have to be aware to these three issues:
Not letting the interviewer finish asking the question.
Listening in an interview is just as important as talking. Let the interviewer finish the question before you answer it. Nothing is more annoying than this but it happens all the time.
Not understanding how to answer the salary question.
You should never interview for a job if you don’t at least know the salary range for the job. Believe it or not, most people sell themselves short which will knock them of job consideration in most cases. If the job pays $45,000 and you tell them you would consider $35,000, the interviewer will wonder what skills you must be missing. If you say $60,000, you will be eliminated but you will never find out this was the reason. A great interview goes south very quickly when salary ranges don’t match up.
Becoming too casual.
You are having a great interview and feel very comfortable with the interviewer. This is where many interviews go terribly wrong. Instead of sitting up in your chair, you may lean back. You might start feeling so comfortable you start asking more personal questions. No matter what you do, allow the good interview to stay positive and on point. Employers like enthusiasm and energy so never fall into the trap (no matter how comfortable you are) of poor nonverbal communication skills.
These things are easy to fix if you know about them. Speaking over anyone is just plain bad. You can be the best candidate for the job but if the salary doesn’t line up before you interview, it is a big waste of time. Finally, don’t let your guard down. Keep up a great energy level and let them know at the end you would love the job.