Even though you might have done all the research in the world and held practice interviews from dusk to dawn, you can still sink your chances of landing a job if you need better personal habits.
Simply put, an interviewer must like you – a stranger – for you to get the job. If you come across as nervous, arrogant, or even depressing to be around, you’ll probably not get the job.
Here are a few bad behaviors you should avoid when you enter your next interview.
Being Nervous
While being a bit is to be expected, don’t let your nerves get the better of you and destroy the interview.
Like it or not, a job interview is a performance. Therefore, you should take a page from performers’ playbooks and practice, practice, practice. Ask a friend to role-play as your interviewer and get used to selling yourself to someone else. If you practice enough, almost to the point of tedium, you’ll develop a comforting routine you can lock into once the curtain goes up.
Being Overconfident
You don’t want to be so cool, calm, and collected at the other end of the spectrum – you come across as overconfident. Avoid correcting the interviewer or asking probing questions that might flip the script and turn the interview into you interrogating the interviewer. If you have a bad habit of always trying to get the last word in, remember: You wouldn’t want to work with someone who always must be right about everything.
Being Apathetic
Ok, so you don’t want to be nervous, you don’t want to be co*cky, and you certainly don’t want to act like you don’t care.
That can be a tricky balancing act; a trick to achieving that equilibrium is emphasizing your passion. Don’t be coy about your interest in the job, and don’t act like you just happened to fall onto this career path.
Being a Debbie-Downer
Many people detest the process of searching for a job. It can involve a lot of rejection and frustration. Typically, job seekers are also feeling some financial stress.
Like feeling a bit nervous, it’s normal to feel a bit beat down. However, you can’t let that show in the interview because it is a performance. Strive to project confidence. If you’re not feeling it, learn to put on a good show. Fake it ’til you make it, as they say.
Being Resentful
During an interview, questions about past employers and supervisors will come up. When they do, it’s best not to vent your frustrations or place blame.
If you were terminated or had a bad work situation in the past, try to be constructive and optimistic in the way you look back at it.
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