Once you get called for an interview, then you know it’s good news; it means you have a good chance of getting the job you’re applying for. This is the time for you to impress the employer and show them you are the best among all the other applicants. Now isn’t the time to blow this chance!

Here are 5 mistakes you can’t afford to make during that important interview:

Show up looking not so presentable Choose an appropriate outfit. Make sure it’s well ironed, free of stains and makes you look very professional. If it’s a corporate setting, don’t show up wearing casual clothes; dress up a bit, but don’t think about using a designer suit (read: overkill). If you insist on wearing your lucky shirt, keep it discreet (especially if it has aged quite a bit or simply not appropriate for the occasion). Avoid brightly colored clothes or loud prints that may not be pleasing to the eye. Try to look as respectable and as professional as you can be.

Sounding pitiful or too arrogant An interview is not the time for you to share your sob story or act desperate. The main concern of every recruiter is to find someone who can fulfill their needs. How they can help you is not in any way their major concern, so save it. Sounding too arrogant can be a turn off too. It wouldn’t hurt to be a little polite and humble during interviews.

Sharing weak/wrong information It’s great if you did some research about the company. However, it can backfire on you if you got wrong information or ancient information that is no longer true. Just imagine if you said “I’m prioritizing my application with your company because I really admire the passion and the views of your CEO, Mr. Johnson.” Sounds impressive? Well, if the recruiter points out that Mr. Johnson is no longer with the company, that could lead to an embarrassing situation pretty quickly. Do you just say…Oops? Not good! So be careful. Verify your information before you start dropping names or stating facts.

Not knowing the content of your own resume While the recruiter can see the information on your resume but they may want to discuss them further. When asked specific questions, you can’t say “it’s there on my resume.” Doing that will make you look so unprepared and less credible, so make sure that you know your resume inside and out.

Bad mouthing previous employers This can be a fatal mistake during interviews. So whatever you do, avoid exposing any bad blood between you and your previous employers. The world is a small place, and people in the same industry know each other; so saying negative things about your previous jobs can be very risky. Keep these thoughts to yourself instead and leave them out on interviews.

Just avoid these potential traps and you will be all set to ace your interview! Good luck!

Tags: career change, Interview, interview advice, interview focus, interviews, job, job duties, job history, job history in resume, job hunt, job interview, Job Search, job skills, job tips, jobs, new job, Personal Branding, professional, what to wear to an interview

This entry was posted on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Applying for a Job, Career Changes, Job & Interview Questions, Job Search Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.