A main goal of an interview is to communicate to the hiring manager that you can provide more value to the company than all of the other applicants. It’s important to show yourself in the best possible light. This means you should avoid making some common mistakes. Here are three things you should never say during an interview.
Negative Remarks about Past Employers
You want the tone of the interview to be positive, so avoid saying anything negative about former employers. The metals industry is a small world. If you complain about your last job, the interviewer might assume you are a difficult employee or that you will bad mouth their company behind their backs. Instead of focusing on what you don’t want in an employer, focus on what you do want. What did you like about your previous jobs? What did you learn from your experience? No matter how awful your former boss may have been, making negative comments will always reflect poorly on you in an interview.
Questions About Compensation
The issue of compensation is obviously important. There is a time and place to have the money talk, and it isn’t during the interview. It’s best to avoid the subject of compensation unless the hiring manager brings it up first. As soon as you start talking about money, you take the focus off what is important, which are the skills and experiences you have that will add value to the company. If you are working with a recruiter, tell them what you made in your last position and what you seek in your next opportunity. They will only match you with positions that are in the ballpark of what you want salary-wise.
Overly Casual Comments
During an interview, you always want to maintain a professional demeanor. Certain situations can make this more challenging. For example, maybe you really hit it off with the hiring manager, and it feels like you’re talking to a friend. Maybe a stage of the interview takes place in an informal setting like a café or bar. Regardless, the employer is observing what you say and how you act. They want to see that they can count on you to take the job seriously and conduct yourself in a professional way.
Interviews are your chance to show an employer that you will be an excellent fit for their company. Interviewers are trained to listen for red flags, so you have to be cautious of what you say when you’re in an interview. Three things you definitely want to avoid are complaints about past employers, questions about compensation, and overly informal comments.
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