3 Job Interview Mistakes You Make Without Knowing You Are Making Them

Are You Making these Job Interview Mistakes Without Knowing You Are Making Them?

As an interview coach in Manchester, I have completed thousands of mock job interviews, analysed the common interview errors and helped failed applicants create job interview success.

This is because most interviewees make mistakes in the job interview without even realising they are making these common interview errors. Have you ever walked out of a job interview feeling on top of the world, as the interview went better than you thought it would, only then to be sent an interview rejection email?

By being aware of these 3 common job interview errors you will then have the conscious choice to make a change in your next job interview.  Remember if you continue to interview in the same way, you will get the same result.

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Job Interview Mistake 1

Talking about the organisations achievements, not yours.

One of the biggest mistakes interviewees make is not making it clear what they did to achieve a successful outcome. A large amount of job interview questions will be “give me an example of….”

Often, the best way to answer this is question is with a story or example. The problem here is that many interviewees use generic stories that are ambiguous in terms of who created a successful outcome.

When answering these types of interview questions you need to make it really clear that it was you who

1) had the idea

2) took action

3) made an impact on the positive outcome.

Job Interview Mistake 2

Focus on the little things.

Many job applicants only spend around 45 minutes preparing for the job interview, compared to successful interviewees, who on average, spend around 4-5 hrs.

Due to this lack of preparation, many failed interviewees, only focus on the big task, IE Googling common asked interview questions, reviewing their CV, etc.

With more interview preparation time you can take your job interview to the next level by focusing on the little things.

It is these little tweaks that have a real impact on the job interview. The tweaks could include changing the words used in your answers for power words, adding gestures to your answers creating real impact and having a focus on how you use your body language to complement the tone of your job interview answers.

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Job Interview Mistake 3

Add value

We know that most successful job applicants are successful because throughout the job interview they highlight past experiences and successes. But what is missing, or what you can add (that has a massive influence in the job interview) that others don’t is how you can add value to their organisation.

It is taken as read, that by stating you have done X, that you will do X in the new company. But to influence people, to make the interviewer have a real emotional attachment to you, you need to state that “if I worked for you I could implement the same process which will increase your profits while saving overhead cost”

By stating what you do is more powerful than stating what you have done.