Common Interview Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

An interview is a requirement for getting any job position; thus, it’s incredibly important to let your best professional self shine through. When we talk specifically about a technical interview, showcasing skills might be required from a candidate. If you’re applying for a position in IT, you may find VPS solutions from HostZealot useful here. Based on HostZealot hosting, you can create a project to demonstrate your skills; plus, the company is known for the ease of use and affordability of their solutions.

However, no matter if you’re about to undergo your first or fifteenth interview, everyone will benefit from learning the common interview mistakes and strategies to avoid them.

Top 6 Common Interview Mistakes to Avoid

Here’s a list of the six most common mistakes not to repeat.

1. Arriving Late

Showing up late gives the interview a bad start and implies that you are irresponsible, which is then assumed to be the attitude you bring to work as well. You also cut off your precious interview time.

While being late to the interview is not the end of the world, it’s better not to leave a chance for that to happen.

How to Avoid

For offline interviews, plan the commuting route and time a day before the interview. Make sure you take into account possible traffic. The best strategy is to plan your time to arrive 10-15 minutes earlier.

For online interviews, check your tech and whether it works properly ahead of time. Make sure that audio, video, Internet and backup power, and network connection are accessible.

2. Coming Unprepared

When you come to the interview unprepared, it indicates your disinterest. An interviewer expects you to know the company’s specialty, its values, and some of its recent work. If you don’t know how to answer the question about the company and what it does, an interviewer will assume you didn’t dedicate time to researching the business, therefore, you aren’t interested in the position.

How to Avoid

Explore the company’s website, social media, and recent work before the interview. Look to understand the company’s values and how they translate into their work. Use this information to craft your answer to themed questions.

3. Speaking Negatively About Past Employers

The interviewer will likely ask about your previous workplaces and the reasons for your leave. Here, no matter how factually unpleasant the previous experiences were for you, you’ll get a bad rep for negatively portraying your previous bosses or teams. The issue here is that it might seem like you’re unable to take responsibility.

How to Avoid

While answering the questions about your previous workplaces, emphasize what you have learned through the challenges there. Expand on how you think you have grown because of them and highlight what you would do differently now. Here, positivity equals maturity.

4. Lacking Enthusiasm

The lack of enthusiasm can work to your disadvantage, indicating that you’re not excited about getting a position there. Even if you’re a fit skill-wise, employers want people genuinely interested in what they do.

How to Avoid

Express what excites you in the role you’re applying for, why the company stands out to you, and anything of that sort. Here, it’s important to sound engaged and show that you care about this opportunity.

5. Oversharing Personal Details

It is important to be authentic, but you should avoid bringing your personal matters into a job interview. When you talk off-topic about something personal to you and don’t differentiate between personal life and work, you seem unprofessional.

How to Avoid

Keep referring to your qualifications, skills, experiences, and career goals. Make sure that the information you are about to share will help enhance your professional image.

6. Not Asking Questions

Closer to the end of the interview, the interviewer asks if you have questions for them. When you say “no”, it’s perceived as a lack of curiosity.

How to Avoid

Come up with a couple of questions beforehand. You can ask about the team, what each member does, or the benefits associated with the position. It shows increased interest.