Five Biggest Interviewing Mistakes

1. Interrogation versus Interview

Most candidates expect they will be interrogated. An interrogation is when one person asks all the questions and the other gives the answers. An interview is a business conversation where both people ask and respond to questions. Too many job seekers believe an interview is an interrogation. With this attitude, candidates do not ask questions and hence do not make their best impression. Your need to ask questions throughout the interview. If you don't, you force the interview to be an interrogation.

2. Making a Positive out of a Weakness

Unskilled interviewers frequently ask candidates "What are your weaknesses?" Conventional interview advise recommends candidates highlight a weakness like "I'm a perfectionist" and turn it into a positive. Interviewers are not that easily fooled. If you are asked "What are your weaknesses?", highlight skill that you wish to improve upon and (more importantly) describe what you are proactively doing to enhance your skills in this area. Interviewers really don't care what your weaknesses are. They simply want to see how you handle the question and what your answer may indicate about you. Highlighting an area for improvement demonstrates you are self aware. Describing what you are doing about that weakness demonstrates you are proactive and seek to continually improve your talents.

3. No Questions

Every interview concludes with the interviewer asking if you have any questions. The worst thing to say is you have no questions. Having no questions shows you are either not interested or not prepared. Interviewers are more impressed with the questions you ask than the selling points you try to make during the interview. Before each interview make a list of 5 question you will ask. Take out your list when they ask if you have any questions. This demonstrates you are prepared and thorough. In some cases the interviewer starts the interview by asking if you have any questions. In such instances you will be well prepared to handle this situation.

4. Only Researching the Company, What about You?

Candidates intellectually prepare for interviews by researching the company and reviewing the company web site. Most job seekers do not research themselves by taking inventory of their experience, knowledge and skills. Formulating an organized talent inventory prepares you to immediately respond to any question about your experience. Interviewers will focus their questioning on your experience and talents. You must be prepared to discuss any part of your background at a moments notice. Creating a your talent inventory refreshed your memory about the many dimensions of your experience and helps you immediately remember experiences you would otherwise forget during the tension of an interview.

5. Leaving Cell Phone On

We may live in a wired, always available society, but a ringing cell phone is not appropriate for an interview. Turn it off before you enter the company.