Rookie Mistakes - A Guest Post by Kate Croston

I do a lot of interviews. It is just a part of my job. I’m not saying that is all I do, but I do conduct enough interviews that I feel like I have some insight into the whole process. What gets me is that I see the same mistakes made over and over again. Simple things, easily fixed. Half the time I want to take the person aside and ask them what in the world they were thinking. Please, please, don’t be one of those people. Here are a few rookie mistakes I‘ve seen, and what you need to do differently:

1. No/ Too Much Eye Contact – You have to be balanced here. Don’t stare at the person interviewing you, but do look at them when they are speaking! It shows confidence when you meet their eyes. Even if that is a problem for you, you can meet their eyes every once in a while at the very least.

2. Don’t Zone Out – Hello, is anyone there? Don’t tune out when the interviewer is speaking. Yes, you may not understand or care about what they are talking about, but listen anyway. Interviews don’t go on for that long; you can make it.

3. Don’t Think You Know Everything – Just because you did some research into the company you are interviewing with (nice move), don’t think you know all about it. Nothing irritates me more than people telling me what my job is like and why they are a perfect fit for the company. You’ll have your chance to talk, so listen and pay attention to what the interviewer is telling you, not what the website said.

4. Elaborate – If the interviewer asks you a question, especially on open ended one, talk! Don’t just say yes, no, or give some terse answer. We want to find out more about you, not have yes men! This is your chance to shine and make a good impression. Even if you don’t know what to say, you can redirect the question elsewhere.

5. Keep Contact But Don’t Push – There has to be a balance here. Yes, you should send a thank you email after the interview. That’s great for keeping you on their minds. But don’t keep it up! Don’t send in samples of your work and keep asking when you will hear back. It is kind of like dating; if you have to work too hard, it is probably not going to work out. The exception to this is very large companies, but even then you don’t want to annoy.

6. If You Are Interested, Show It –All jobs are not for all people. I know you walk into an interview expecting to hear about one kind of job and come out of it knowing that is not what they are looking for. If you still want the job, then show it. Be interested and upbeat. Think of creative ways you will add to the position. Interest does help, believe it or not.

I’m sure I could add fifty more things to this list, but these six cover the basics. They are not hard. They are not brain-numbing. And they will get you a job. Take it from me… Though you will need to be able to do the job once you are hired, so don’t go crazy here. Good luck!

Author Bio:
Kate Croston is a freelance writer, holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing business internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to: katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.