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7 Things You Should Avoid In An Interview – Part 1

11.08.2008 · Posted in Career Articles

What follows is a transcript of a conversation between Peter Dallimore, General Manager, Careerzone Director and John Nevill Managing Director, Numero (New Zealand) Ltd.nnPeter: 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.nnJohn: 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.nnPeter: Thanks, could you elaborate on your last point of dress code? What sort of standard is deemed appropriate?nnJohn: It really depends on what job you’re going for. Say for example you were going for an assistant-accountant job. For guys it would most likely be a suit and tie, however we’re not always looking at office jobs and you do need to be dressed accordingly to the role you’re going for. I know that some people looking for temp work in the construction industry just show up in their work clothes, but that’s not really our audience. But generally speaking, smart/casual or business attire is usually well-accepted.nnPeter: Would it be a good idea to overdress then?nnJohn: Yes, definitely. Another issue is ****** hygiene, for example, smelling of cigarettes. If you’ve been for a smoke before the interview, make sure you get rid of the smoky smell. Again, blaming other people can be an issue, especially if it seems to become a common theme during the interview. Accountability is the point to note around that comment. There are some people who you interview who have excuses for everything. They left there because they did not like the boss or the company didn’t do very well because it’s everyone else’s fault. It’s about being honest and open. People are generally quite happy to hear good, honest answers for things.nnPeter: Yes, because we humans make mistakes. People change roles because they got it wrong, that does happen, doesn’t it?nnJohn: 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.nnPeter: Most interviewers would understand that it was not a one-person deal. nnJohn: 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.

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