7 Things Not to Say in a Job Interview
“I’m looking for any job”
One of the most common questions that a recruiter asks first is why they take part in the recruitment process. Unfortunately, it still happens that candidates are not prepared for this question and answer it in a spontaneous and ill-considered way, saying, for example, “I sent out my CV in response to many advertisements and you just called”. This is a big mistake. For the recruiter, this is a clear signal that the candidate shows little interest in the company and the recruitment process, and this automatically questions their motivation to work in a given company or position and puts the candidate in an unfavorable light. On this basis, it can be assumed that investing in such a candidate may be burdened with greater risk. A candidate who is not sure about his decisions regarding professional development may leave the company in a short time for a trivial reason.
“My previous boss was hopeless”
Even if the candidate’s motivation to change jobs results from bad relations with the employer or supervisor, they should keep this information to themselves. During the interview, under no circumstances should you speak negatively about your current employers, bosses and colleagues. By openly criticizing others, the candidate creates an image of himself as a conflictive person who cannot find himself in a difficult situation and cannot find a constructive solution, which can naturally translate into the effects of work. In addition, a potential boss, hearing criticism of the previous supervisor, may assume that in the future the candidate will also speak about him in a similar way. Such an assumption automatically generates distrust towards the candidate and may decide to exclude him or her from further stages of the recruitment process.
“It’s stress”
A job interview is an unusual situation for candidates. During such a meeting, everyone tries to look their best and make a great impression on the recruiter or potential employer. Everyone is also careful not to say anything that could indicate a lack of competence or ignorance. How a candidate copes with a stressful situation says a lot about them. Therefore, you should not inform the recruiter about your stress, because there is a risk that on this basis the recruiter will give the candidate a low rating of the candidate’s ability to cope with difficult situations.
“I know I don’t have a lot of experience, but…”
The recruiter is well aware of the candidate’s seniority, because he carefully analyzed the submitted application before the interview. Saying that you have little experience can be perceived by the recruiter as a kind of precaution and an excuse for the future. Instead of focusing on your shortcomings, it is better to focus on your development, knowledge and experience gained in previous positions and how you will be able to use them in your new workplace. During the interview, the candidate should think of their qualifications as a product that they want to “sell” in the best possible way. The offer presented by the candidate should be competitive to the offers presented by other applicants, which is why it is so important to emphasize your strengths. Remember not to exaggerate your skills and not to lie about your experience. Even if the candidate receives their dream job, their skills and preparation for specific tasks will be verified very quickly during the first months of employment. It is often the case that, being aware of certain gaps in the candidate’s preparation, the company provides them with training that allows them to quickly implement in the workplace and perform their duties properly.
“My weakness is perfectionism”
“What are your weaknesses?” – this question is very often asked during a job interview. No answer seems right then – after all, the recruiter requires the candidate to admit to something that may affect their further participation in the recruitment process. The answer should be prepared before the meeting. For this purpose, it is good to analyze the duties to be performed in a given position, so that it does not turn out that, for example, a candidate applying for a position that requires fluency in English and knowledge of information technology, indicates poor English and little knowledge of IT as their weaknesses. You should definitely not say clichés known to all recruiters, such as “my weakness is perfectionism” or “too much accuracy”. This can be perceived as an attempt to evade the answer. It’s better to say about a not very significant, but real flaw – after all, no one is perfect. Besides, the purpose of this question is not to sink the candidate, but to test the candidate’s ability to deal with problematic situations.
“It’s on my CV”
The recruiter knows exactly what is in the candidate’s CV. So if they ask a question about a skill or experience that has already been described in the application, it is due to the desire to extract the most accurate data possible from the candidate about the duties they perform. The role of the recruiter is to obtain detailed information about the experience and competences of people involved in the recruitment process, and to relate this information to the profile of the ideal candidate and the tasks performed in a given position. Answering with the sentence “This is in my CV” indicates the candidate’s lack of professionalism. It is best to answer each recruiter’s question in the most detailed and precise way possible.
“How long will this conversation last?”
When scheduling an interview, the recruiter usually informs the candidate himself about how long the meeting will take. However, if they do not do so, the candidate should ask about the course of the meeting and how much time to reserve for it. Asking, already during the meeting, how long the interview will last is definitely out of place and can be perceived as disrespectful to the recruiter. It is also worth remembering to turn off or mute the phone before the meeting so that it does not disturb you during the conversation. Leaving a meeting, unless of course it is an emergency, is frowned upon. However, if the candidate is waiting for a very important call that day, they should postpone the meeting or inform the recruiter about the situation in advance.
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