7 Things You Should Avoid In An Interview - Part 1
What follows is a transcript of a conversation between Peter Dallimore, General Manager, Careerzone Director and John Nevill Managing Director, Numero (New Zealand) Ltd.
Peter: Hi John, thanks for taking the time out to do this discussion about the top seven mistakes candidates make. Would you like to start off with one of the first mistakes you see.
John: Sure, the first one I see is negativity about employers. It is not just necessarily during an interview, but during the interview process. Issues include being late and being negative about current employers or past, for that matter. Some candidates can be overly negative, in other words, blame other people for situations that may be, at least in part, their own doing. Other “mistakes” include typos on CVs and being dressed inappropriately.
Peter: Thanks, could you elaborate on your last point of dress code? What sort of standard is deemed appropriate?
John: Dress code is really job dependant, for example, if you were going for an assistant accountant job, you would most likely wear a suit and tie. However, not everyone works in an office, so you really need to be dressed for your role. I know people who work in the construction industry who show up to interviews for temporary jobs in their work boots. But as a starting point, smart/casual is the way to go.
Peter: Would you say it’s best to overdress a little bit?
John: Definitely. Other issues also include bodily hygeine such as cigarette smoke. If you do smoke, make sure you get rid of the smoky smell. Again, the issue of other people can arise, especially if this theme continues during the interview. There are people who seem to have excuses for everything. They left because they disliked their former employer or the company failed because of everyone else. It’s really all about being honest and people are generally happy to hear good honest answers
Peter: Yes, because sometimes there are mistakes. People leave roles because they get it wrong. That does happen, doesn’t it?
John: Yes. You have to be careful about it, but you certainly don’t just take accountability for successes. The flipside of that is taking total accountability for all success. People say, ‘I was working for that company and I increased sales by 300%.’ Or ‘I was working for that company and I restructured the whole engineering department.’ If you’re part of a team, say that you’re part of a team. Don’t think that the interviewer’s going to believe you if you seem to take sole responsibility for everything great that has happened during your career.
Peter: Most interviewers would understand that it was not a one-person deal.
John: Certainly in a recruitment company anyway; you hear it all the time. Also, another common mistake that people make is not researching a role or a company or the people very well. If you are going for an interview, invest some time in doing some research.