During an interview, the recruiter not only is trying to gauge how well you can converse in English, but also your level of professionalism.. So here are some things to avoid during an interview
1.) Being Late
Never break this cardinal rule as a professional. First impressions last, and if you are already late for your interview then it would give an impression that you would also be the same as an employee. If you are unfamiliar with the location of your interview, look it up beforehand in Google Maps and also check for the travel time. This would enable you to anticipate when you should start making your way to take into account traffic.
2.) Not being prepared
Another thing that would disappoint your recruiter is when you showed up but ill prepared. Since online interviews are quite common now, make sure that you are in a quiet place without dogs barking or neighbors yelling in the background, and with a strong phone or internet signal connection.
Another way of being unprepared is to not have a definite answer to the recruiter’s question of “Why do you want to work in this position?”. The deal breaker would be to say “because I need a job”.
3.) Disparaging your previous employers
Some are great to work for and there are those that are not, but no company is perfect. No matter how bad your previous experience is with your previous employer, avoid disparaging them. You can professionally say that the company wasn’t a good fit or that it wasn’t what you are looking for. But no need to get into detail on every problem you had with them. Because this will make your recruiter wary and see you as someone who always looks at things as “a glass that is half empty”.
4.) Talking too much
Recruiters allocate a limited amount of time for every applicant, this along with other administration task and reports that they also need to accomplish daily, they need to keep things efficient. So as much as they need to gauge you as best as they could, avoid “beating around the bush” to their questions. Learn to be able to balance being concise and still able to expound on a certain topic. But if a question simply requires a “yes” or “no”, then reply as much.
5.) Sharing your personal problems
Not to sound callous or indifferent, everyone is going through something personally, especially during the COVID pandemic. It’s a part of life. But when something like this comes up during your interview, mention it only briefly and no need to share too much. Remember just because you share these things in social media, which is not recommended, it doesn’t mean that you should also mention it to every stranger which at this point your recruiter still is.
Final note, now this doesn’t seem to apply to this topic since it speaks of the actual interview. But since it’s still part of this phase of the application process it’s worth to mention to respect other people’s time. The time slot was allotted to you and there are numerous applicants who would like to be given the chance, so don’t waste it. If you have a valid reason and you are unable to show up for your schedule, do inform your recruiter way ahead of time.
