Before becoming a career coach for 20-something women, I spent a lot of time working in recruiting and career consulting. This was probably the most eye-opening time of my life as I was completely astounded by the lack of knowledge around how to properly look for a job.
Things that I would assume were basic and could be found anywhere online—like how to answer typical job interview questions—apparently weren’t so well-known. In the more extreme cases, I witnessed job candidates cry, confuse me for their therapist, lash out at recruiters and not even be able to articulate what they did at their last job.
Fortunately, not every job candidate makes such severe mistakes when looking for work. However, there are some mistakes that are quite common, and by avoiding them, you can have a serious edge on the hunt. Or, at the very least, you’ll beat out half your competition.
1. Being Unrealistic About Salaries
Being off on your least acceptable salary could make or break you during a job interview. The hiring manager is looking to make sure you’re being realistic about what a company is willing to pay you.
Unfortunately, you may not be worth as much to a company as you think. This isn’t to say you can’t get a better salary; it just means you need to know how to leverage the dollar figure. So here’s the deal: your salary should be based on your past work experience and your work history combined. Don’t expect to make $50 grand right out of school with close to zero work experience. Similarly, don’t expect your salary to jump $10,000 from one company to the next. (You can check out sites like Glassdoor to get an idea of current salaries for a position in your area.)
It’s all about being strategic so you can get your foot in the door. From there, you can negotiate.
2. Not Knowing How to Answer Key Questions
There are two questions people tend to stumble over the most during job interviews.
The first is “What is a difficult situation you have had to overcome?” In a professional environment, it’s preferred that you give a business-related answer. Also, make sure to keep it conservative—no one needs to hear about bad wardrobe malfunctions. Find a situation that demonstrates your ability to handle challenges, and explain the specific steps you took to overcome it.
The second question is “What’s your biggest weakness?” As a recruiter, my favorite answer for this is “I put too much pressure on myself to succeed.” Why? Because while it may sound like a weakness, it’s really not, at least not to the company. Companies dig it if you put insane amounts of pressure on yourself to meet their bottom line. To them, it means you’re solid and will be a good investment.
Always be prepared to answer the standard interview questions. Come up with solid answers beforehand and rehearse so you won’t be caught speechless.
3. Bad-Mouthing Former Employers
This is a huge interview faux pas. Hiring managers don’t care if you had the worst boss in the world; they simply don’t want to hear it. If you’re bad-mouthing an old boss, what makes them think you won’t bad-mouth them?
With that being said, keep your strong feelings about bad work experiences to yourself. When asked “Why do you want to leave your current job?” bite your tongue and say that either there is a lack of growth potential or you’re looking for a better opportunity. No need to go into excruciating detail about how terrible a work environment it is, how your boss is a monster or how everyone is out to blackball you.
At the end of the day, the only thing a company is looking for is whether or not you’re hireable. If you want too much money, if you can’t answer questions professionally or if you can’t keep it polite, it’s not going to cut it for corporate. Period.
Just remember: when it comes to job hunting, it’s all about strategy. Once you’ve got the job, then you can loosen up a little.
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