Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Things that turn off employers

If you don't do these foolish things during an interview...


...you'll probably do just fine.


  1. Bad mouth your former company.
  2. No matter how justified you think it is, don't trash your former employer in any way. This includes the general work environment, your boss, fellow employees, and even the projects. Some negative statements you need to stay clear of include "I just couldn't stand it." Instead, say something along the lines of "I wanted to move on because (insert non-arrogant reason here.)"
  3. Showing that your career path is not clear.
  4. Its good to be flexible, eager to learn, and open minded. But what value do you plan on bringing to the company? What do you have that many other candidates for this position might not have? You need to elaborate on these kinds of things without making it sound like a generic response. Employers prefer to hire people who are focused and self motivated. If they have an inkling that you need to be babysat in order to be productive, they won't hire you.
  5. Sounding really desperate.
  6. Some people might confuse desperation as being very motivated. While these kinds of people might work harder at the job, they might not work smarter. It might give the impression that you're just not wanted by other employers, for whatever reason. Its usually hard to terminate employees for different reasons, so they would rather not take such risks and find out the hard way why you might not be good for the company.
  7. Arriving too early, or late.
  8. The problem with arriving 10+ minutes early for the interview is that you might appear too eager and desperate (look at what was just said above.) If you show up late, you're just being disrespectful and wasting the employers time. If something happens to cause you to be late which is out of your control, try and call them ASAP if you can to let them know (apologizing but not sounding too desperate or shameful.) If you have complete control over whether or not you're punctual for the interview and you're just late, then maybe right now is a bad time for you to search for jobs.
  9. Bringing up money.
  10. Wait until the employer asks you questions about salary and other benefits. You need to do research on the company prior to the interview to try and get a good enough idea of whether or not this company is worthwhile for you to work at (often times a salary and benefits is listed in job descriptions.) If you say something like "Any salary is fine" this might make you seem to eager or desperate. If you're asked about salary, use good judgement on saying how much you think you should earn, rather than how much you want to earn.
  11. Being anxious or too nervous.
  12. While its generally expected that the average candidate will be somewhat nervous during the interview, you cannot go too far with this. Be mentally prepared for answering questions the interviewer might ask and plan ahead for good responses. If you slip up in some way flinching or acting nervous in any way, don't try to correct it by putting on a big smile because this would add a little fuel to the fire. You can briefly make note of it to yourself, relax, and try do well throughout the rest of the interview (without trying too hard.)
  13. Focusing too much on previous successes and accomplishments.
  14. You might have been the best (or worst!) employee at your previous job. You can talk about how well you did on some projects but don't dwell on these things unless you're asked specifically. The focus of the interview needs to be on the talents and assets which will bring value to the company.

You can watch this video to make extra sure that your resume is truthful. You'll see why its never worth lying on your resume, no matter what it is that you lack.



AccuScreen Website


So make sure to have an edge over some other candidates by not lying on your resume.

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