In this video we're gonna cover five common mistakes people make while
interviewing. We'll cover fixes to all of these mistakes plus if you stick around
to the end we'll give you a free downloadable worksheet to help you ace
your next interview. Well, we've all had that moment so we want to hear from you
what's the most embarrassing interview mistake you've ever made? Tell us in the
comments below.
Hi Contessas welcome back I'm Lauren McGoodwin founder and CEO of Career
Contessa the only career site built for women. Be sure to LIKE and subscribe to
our channel because we drop videos weekly. Alright let's go over five common
mistakes that a lot of us make in interviews so that you don't make it the
next time you've got that big interview. Mistake number one using filler words. Um
like, so, you know, actually, just these are all unnecessary filler words. People tend
to use these filler words when they're nervous and I think we can all admit
that being nervous during a job interview is pretty natural but you want
to come across as being super confident and impressive to that hiring manager
and filler words just really don't communicate that. This is especially
important if you're interviewing for a job that relies heavily on good
communication skills like teaching or recruiting or public relations or sales.
The fix for using filler words? Practice. Before your interview do a trial run
either with a friend asking you some questions or by videotaping yourself and
then re watching that video and seeing how you answer. You might cringe when you
watch that video but that video is really helpful because it's gonna show
you where you are using the filler words or maybe where do you repeat yourself or
maybe you have a nervous tic like you put your hair behind your ears a hundred
times. Whatever it is you want to make sure to watch that and then consciously
make sure that you're removing it in the future. I recommend practicing your
answers to common interview questions several times before the
big day. Mistake number two. Talking at the speed of light. During the interviews
candidates tend to speak really really quickly. Talking a mile a minute not only
it makes it hard for the recruiter to actually follow what you're saying but
what if they have a question they want to ask you and there's no natural place
where you've paused? So it's important that you want to be able to give them
enough information but they don't need your entire back story within one
sentence either. Our advice is to take a time out.
Simply taking a pause to collect your thoughts is gonna be super super
valuable and I know that for many of us we think
that if we pause during an interview it's gonna look like a
weakness but really it's not and the hiring manager doesn't see it as a
weakness either. We see it as a something that you're doing to be really
thoughtful about your answer and we appreciate that. Mistake number three.
Bad-mouthing. While this might seem obvious that you want to keep it
positive or at least not badmouth your past employer and job sometimes people
can really stumble when the hiring manager can really turn the pressure on.
Remember it's the hiring manager's job to really understand why are you looking
for a new job what did you do in your last job that's relevant to this job or
even why did you leave that last job why was it not a fit they're gonna ask a lot
of detailed questions and you want to be prepared for that but you don't want to
badmouth. So instead of bad-mouthing if you can't say anything nice, don't say
anything at all. Never make a derogatory comment about your old co-workers boss
or company. You may seem very comfortable in your interview environment but
remember avoid the temptation to vent. You've got friends and happy hour for
that and focus on the lessons you've learned tying them back to the role
you're interviewing for now. Mistake number four. Talking numbers. If you bring
up the salary or vacation time within the first few minutes of your interview
it's pretty safe to say that you probably won't hear back about that. It's
not because those things don't matter but when you're interviewing for
something and at the very beginning you want to show that you've got the
experience and that you're passionate about the role and the company, not that
you're just in it for the perks. Ask thoughtful questions about the role
product or service and show what you can bring to the table.
This helps the interviewer see whether you're actually worth the extra five
thousand, ten thousand, dollars you might negotiate for during the offer phase. Our
best advice? Zip it at least for now. Leaving numbers
out of the first interview will actually help you negotiate for a better offer
later on. Why? You might ask for ten thousand dollars less than their initial
starting point. Once you've learned more about the company and the role, you'll
have time to research you're ask to ensure you're not low balling yourself.
However we cannot stress enough that it is important to negotiate your salary
once it is an appropriate time in the interview process. We have a salary
database called the salary project where you can gain access to thousands of
salaries in order to ensure you're getting paid what you deserve. The link
is in the description. Mistake number five. Showing up unprepared. If you're
sitting down for an interview you should already have thoroughly researched the
company, the role, and even the people you're going to interview with. That's
the best way to have a high level exchange with the hiring manager. You
don't want to just talk surface-level about the role. You want to get deeper
into how your experience is a great fit for this. Make sure you do the research.
Follow the company on LinkedIn and the interviewers and other company contacts
Google the company's press releases from the last year too. Learning about their
new products and initiatives will give you a good idea of their priorities. Also
check out the company website to understand the language they use and try
to create your interview answers in a similar way. By speaking their language
you'll already seem like a natural fit for their brand and culture.
So those are five of the most common mistakes we see when it comes to job
interviews. Follow our tips and you'll be sure to ace your next interview. If
you're looking for extra practice for your job interview, download our free job
interview flash cards with common difficult and occasionally unusual
interview questions. That's linked in the description below. Now we want to know
tell us what's been your most embarrassing job interview mistake. Tell
us in the comments below. Did you find this video helpful? I hope so. And if you
can give us a like and subscribe because we drop videos weekly