Avoid Top Job Interview Mistakes

Some of you may not know this, but page hits on this blog are extremely important to me. As a result, I closely examine the content on top sites to see what they are doing to get all their hits. I saw this article on the front page of Yahoo News and was struck by the insight, expertise, genius, and literary prowess of this article - Avoid These Top College Admissions Interview Mistakes. I will try to imitate the brilliant techniques employed by the author and hope to give super helpful advice and draw in millions of clicks!

Acing a job admissions interview is exactly what you need to do to get hired, but having a bad interview will sink you. Don't fall into the latter category. The following are several of the top job interview mistakes - and ways to avoid making them.

1. Insulting your interviewer. While honesty is a trait looked for by most employers, insulting your interviewer is not the correct avenue to displaying this trait. No matter how overweight your interviewer is or how much you dislike their haircut or outfit, try your best not to insult your interviewer. Attempt to find other avenues of exhibiting honesty, perhaps by displaying your self-awareness by admitting to your own weaknesses (e.g. cheating, stealing, pornography).

2. Neglecting to wear clothes. Most employers nowadays prefer their job candidates clothed while interviewing, so it is of utmost importance that your body is covered. The temptation may also be strong to remove articles of clothing during your interview, but studies have shown that candidates that strip during their interviews are less likely to receive job offers.

3. Failing to follow directions. When you interview, it's possible that you will be given specific tasks to accomplish, be it problem-solving or writing code on a whiteboard. It is of utmost importance that you accomplish these tasks within the constraints given you. Many first-time interviewees make the mistake of using the white board to draw dinosaurs and panda bears instead of programming and throwing pens and pencils at the ceiling, but unless instructed to do so, refrain from such activities.

4. Telling lies. We all are prone to hyperbole especially during interviews, but over-exaggerating is a big risk that needs to be avoided. Resisting the impulse to tell lies will save you the trouble of attempting to explain how you managed to finish college in 2 years despite your extensive time overseas helping the poor and the time machine that you built in your back yard.

5. Going overboard with the bragging*: While you shouldn't be so humble that you don't say anything positive about yourself when asked about your accomplishments, be careful not to go overboard. Going on for too long about how great you are and how many amazing things you've done can be off-putting. It's okay to let some of what you've done speak for itself. If certain achievements are really that incredible, the interviewer will show genuine interest and have follow-up questions, allowing you to expand on your experiences in a more natural way.

*All of point 5 copied verbatim from Avoid These Top College Admissions Interview Mistakes

Caleb Tseng is a professional mediocre blogger at fobbymaster.blogspot.com. He earned his B.S.E. from the University of Michigan and his master's degree from the University of Michigan.