Top 5 Job Interview Mistakes and How to Fix Them

It’s easy to make mistakes during interviews – we’re only human, we’re in a high-pressure environment, and regardless of how confident we are in an interview setting, we can still be nervous.

Whether it’s nerves, lack of prep or otherwise, here are some mistakes even top talent can make in an interview, and how to avoid them:

Talking too much or too little

This is a very common mistake candidates make. Interviews are high-pressure environments, and you are trying to sell yourself both technically and personally. Candidates will either talk until the end of the universe and forget what they were asked or not give enough information.

To avoid this, make sure you know the ins and outs of the job spec. The job spec is telling you what they want to hear, so don’t hesitate to use this info to tell them what they want to hear! You can use the job spec to your advantage.

Not tailoring your examples/stories to suit the interviewers

Interviewers want to hear real life stories about times you have dealt with different situations – these are referred to as competency-based questions. While you absolutely can use the same stories you have under your belt for several interviews, I recommend you tailor them for each interview.

This will keep your stories truthful while making them more relevant to the role you are interviewing for.

Overlooking body language/presence

Interviews nowadays tend to be less formal but read the room! Body language and presence is huge for both in person and online interviews. If candidates overlook this and stick to one interview style, it won’t work for every interviewer. If the interviewer is going back and forth with you, try to mirror that. On the other end of the spectrum, if they are formal, act formal.

I recommend practicing this “mirroring” act with someone else – it seems small, but it’s very effective.

Not asking questions

At the end of the interview, they will often ask “do you have any questions for us?”

The answer should be yes! Prepare some questions for the interviewer. These questions can range from questions on the day-to-day aspects of the role to much more technical questions.

When in doubt, you can say “I was going to ask about ABC, but we’ve gone through that, so I don’t have anything else for now.” This is an important difference to just saying “no”, because it shows you have been actively listening, and you had some questions prepared.

Badmouthing previous employers

It may be true that you are leaving your current role due to internal issues like management or work culture but avoid badmouthing your current and past employers. Talking negatively about employers puts a negative tone on the conversation, and more importantly, you never want to burn bridges.

It’s okay to make mistakes in an interview, any hiring manager will tell you that, but if you can avoid these things and prepare adequately, you will be putting your best foot forward!