Common mistakes at Interview

Common mistakes at Interview

Congratulations you have been invited to attend an interview for a role you are looking to get. Be it face to face or virtual there are a number of common mistakes candidates make which can blow your chances at the interview, and sometime a recruiter will be reluctant to let you know/why you blew it, so I thought I would just give you a few examples 

  • Do not belittle your current or past employer, so when you are asked why you left your last role, do not say as one of my candidates said to a client when he was leaving the Army, and I quote “the Army is Sh*t, all they do is find work for us to do and treat us like kids, and I want to be closer to my home and not the other end of the country” This would typically ring alarm bells with any prospective employer, because they would be worried what the candidate would say about them when they leave the company and hiring someone with such a negative attitude could cause issues within the current team. Typically, what the young infantryman should have said, is that he was looking to move back closer to his home location and he has achieved everything he wanted and was now looking to progress his career going forward, or something like that. 
  • Why do you want the role? Don’t focus on the cash and benefits. Exclusively, cash and benefits are very important, but if you come across as being money hungry, except in a small minority of roles, such as Sales and Business Development which are very much cash driven, for most other roles this would also ring alarm bells, as the interviewer would be wondering if someone offered you £2ph more you would probably jump, bearing in mind, it can take up to 6 months to get a new employee to become an asset and start paying for themselves. 
  • Where you see yourself in the future? I recently heard of a candidate when asked this question literally turn to the prospective employer said to him, that if he did not get promoted within 6 to 12 months then he would be off looking for new role, or another candidate who said that he has plans to set up his own company in the next couple of years and that he wanted to join this company to learn more about the sector and see if he can walk off with all of their clients when he left. Needless to say, both of the above were knocked back by the client, not that I can blame them. If you are looking to set up your own business, or set up a side hustle, keep it to yourself, as again they will be investing a lot of time and resource to get you up to speed and they’ll want a return on investment so to speak. If that is your aim to set up a company in the near future, instead of trying to find a permanent role, try temping or short-term contracts. Typically, what clients want to hear is commitment, i.e. I want your job, but I am looking at maybe 3 – 5 years in the future. 
  • Research! Most times you will get 2 – 3 days’ notice on an interview, so do your research about the company, use things like LinkedIn or if they have an “about us” or “news” section on their website, do your homework, I purposely do not give too much info about the company, as I would expect and hope that you would do your own research and prepare yourself about the company. I speak to my clients after their interviews and occasionally I get the feedback that the candidate tried to wing it and it showed that they did little or no research, which puts companies off as they are spending time reading your CV, setting up interviews and actually meeting with you. You should do the common curtesy of looking and trying to learn about them, believe me. It does help, as one client recently said to me that the candidate whose interview skills were not as good as another candidate, but who spent time trying to understand the company, got the job as the other candidate winged it and thought he could get away with it. So yes, it can bite you in the back.
  • Dress and deportment. On this subject, I can give a presentation in its own rights, but whether you are showing up face to face or virtual, dress is still very important. I have spoken to clients telling them that my candidate will be showing up in work gear as they were coming straight from work, and every client said yes and said that they understood and would make allowances. But one of my candidates showed up for an interview in work uniform, and get this, got his lunch out and proceed to eat it during the interview and it was for me as the client insisted that I meet everyone face to face, and needless to say the interview went downhill rapidly from there. When I asked him why, he said I did not count as I was only a recruitment consultant and I had to represent him, sorry, wrong answer and I kicked him out rapidly.

I know getting interviews can be and are very daunting for some of you, and for others, it is all just part of the game that you need to get a job, but it does not matter, if you have only done 1 or 2 interviews or 100’s over the years, I hope that these 5 points can help you find your next role.

Should you have any questions or queries and would like to reach out to us, please feel free.

Neil Shuttleworth RTR (Rtd)

SIA Security Manager/Train Crew

6mo

Good article. Some sound advice. However, I would add to remain calm and collected but not intimidating. Nerves are good in certain conditions e.g a panel. Try and pre-empt questions relating to the nature of the role.

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Pecs Uluiviti

RN /RAFVeteran(Logistician), Army Reservist, Public Service/Military Charity Volunteer/Befriender, Fitness fanatic.

6mo

Spot on Bro. Very useful guide and advice. . Much appreciated 👍👍

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