The 25 Biggest Interview "Turnoffs"
In a major study conducted by the Placement Center of Northwestern University, employers were asked to name the traits or responses they found most objectionable in job candidates. Their responses, in order of intensity of dislike, were as follows:
- Arrogance, cockiness.
- Poor communication, presentation skills.
- Lack of interest.
- Lack of knowledge about the company and industry.
- Early discussion or questions about salary and benefits.
- Being unprepared for the interview and making excuses.
- Egotism, over-confidence.
- Tardiness, not showing up for interview.
- Poor eye contact.
- Abrasive, rude, demanding.
- Dishonesty, fabricated answers in interview or resume.
- Poor language usage, slang, poor grammar.
- No career direction, not knowing self.
- Shallow, inappropriate questions or answers.
- Lack of experience, education, skills.
- Lack of professional appearance.
- "Know-it-all" attitude.
- Inappropriate attire.
- Unrealistic goals, career and job expectations.
- Overly aggressive, hostile, manipulative behavior.
- Lack of enthusiasm.
- Poor grooming, hygiene.
- Does not communicate qualifications effectively, no elaboration or examples.
- Deficient social, conversational skills.
- Lack of professionalism and poise.
And how do you do that? By doing everything you can to make the interviewer feel safe and secure about you. Specifically, to feel safest with you, the interviewer will be looking for you to meet three criteria:
- You are qualified to do the job.
- You are motivated to do the job.
- You are "their kind of person.”
The closer your presentation comes to assuring the interviewer about these three requirements, the safer the interviewer will feel about you and the greater your odds of being hired. This holds true for every position at every company that interviews you. So the bulk of your preparation for any interview should be targeted at meeting these three essential criteria.
- Review your resume before your interview and be prepared to use it as your “script" in answering interview questions. Remember that your cover letter and resume were impressive enough to have gained your interview. In other words, so far, it's a winning combination. So before your interview, study your resume, no matter how many times you reviewed it before. Keep your greatest achievements fresh in your mind, ready to feed to the interviewer and match up with his company's needs.
- Be prepared for tough interview questions. Throughout your job campaign, you should regularly review the questions in your accompanying report, How to Answer the 64 Toughest Interview Questions, and rehearse your answers.
As you rehearse your answers to anticipated questions, make them concise enough to fit into one or two minute segments. No answer to any interview question should go beyond two minutes. If your interviewer wants more information, he or she can ask after you finish your one to two minute summary.
The Surprising Personality Trait Preferred by 98% of Hiring Executives.
A1986 survey by Hodge-Cronin & Associates found that 98% of 737 chief executives interviewed would hire a candidate with a good sense of humor over a humorless type.
As said by Forbes magazine: "A mounting body of research says the preference is well-grounded. Researchers have found a connection between a well-developed sense of humor and problem-solving. Professor of history Joseph Boskin, who teaches a course on humor in 20th-century America at Boston University, says humorous people are usually wiser and have broader perspectives. And they are often better workers."
So, don't be afraid to smile or even laugh when appropriate during your interviews. But don't crack jokes yourself. Technique for preparing for top-flight interview performance is to use the same method employed by championship athletes. That is, videotape a rehearsed interview. You can ask a friend or your spouse to interview you for the position you are seeking, and videotape the entire session. To make it easy for them, you can have them ask you questions from your report, How to Answer the 64 Toughest Interview Questions.
Then review your performance as if you were watching someone you are thinking of hiring. Make any improvements you deem necessary. Then go through the process again, until you feel that your interview technique is in tip-top shape. For many people, this is an uncomfortable exercise, because few of us like to see or hear ourselves on tape. But it's an invaluable way to see what you may be doing wrong and correct any problems in practice before they hurt your chances in an actual interview, when it will be too late.
A related technique, and a great interview stress-reducer, is simply to use your own mind to visualize the interview unfolding as you would like. See yourself succeeding brilliantly in listening to your interviewer, uncovering his main wants, letting him finish every question completely before responding, and then providing an answer which perfectly matches his needs with your qualifications. Imagine seeing your interviewer quite impressed with your credentials. Imagine that you sense very strongly that he or she likes you and would get along well with you, and that the chemistry between you is fabulous.
