Tag Archives: interviews

Common Interview Mistakes You Might Be Making

Interviews. You have an hour, maybe less, to make an incredible first impression. But that’s tough! There are so many ways you could mess up, from arriving late to wearing the wrong clothes to sharing too much of your personal life.

Don’t worry though, we’ve got you covered. As a staffing company, we have plenty of experience with interviews. That means that we know what works and what doesn’t.

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Ace Your Interview with These Top Tips

Here at Job Journey we want you to get the job you want.

That’s why we write about online job searching, interviews, and all that good stuff.

But it can be kind of hard to figure out where all those juicy brain-boosting articles are. They’re spread out—some are old and some are new.

So, we’ve decided to write periodic posts that put the articles you want in one place.

Today’s theme? Interviews.

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Answering the Interview Question: Tell Me About Yourself

How Much Do They Want to Know?

Some interviewers prefer to kick things off with a general question instead of something specific. Asking you to talk about yourself tells them two things: 1. How you handle being put on the spot and 2. Information about your experience they can use as a baseline for the rest of your interview.

Since the question is so general, it can be hard to figure out where to start. But the open nature of the question also allows you to create a unique answer that shows off your personality and experience. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

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Poll Results: How Job Seekers Want to Interact with Companies

Here’s what you had to say.

Recently we asked our Job Journey readers about their preferred method of interacting with a company during their job search.

The top choice was “scheduled in-person interview” with 23% of the votes. “Email” came in second, with 19% of the votes, followed by “telephone” with 17% of the votes and “in-person/walk-in” with 13% of the votes.

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Answering the Interview Question: Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job/Company?

How honest is too honest?

This interview is going quite well. You’re pretty sure you’ve aced every question, and you can really see yourself working at this company. But then your interviewer turns to you, smiles, and asks the dreaded question: “One last question before you go: Why are you leaving your position at XYZ company?”

Your heart starts beating a mile a minute. Why are they asking this? Should you tell them your manager is terrible? Should you mention the toxic work culture? Maybe that’s not even the problem, and all you want is a change of pace—is that answer too boring?

If this situation sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In a recent Job Journey survey, 13% of respondents wanted help with this question. And it’s easy to see why—there are too many ways to answer it.

That makes it all the more important to come prepared with your answer well before you arrive for your interview. There is no one-answer-fits-all solution, but we’ve provided a few of our favorites below. Feel free to mix and match to find something that works for you.

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Talking About Your Experience in an Interview

So, tell me a bit about your experience.

“Tell me about yourself.” “Could you speak about your previous work experience and how it’s shaped you as an employee?” “Oh, this job on your resume sounds interesting. Could you tell me more about it?”

These phrases are all essentially alternate ways of asking you about your experience, which eventually comes up in every interview.

However, interviewers aren’t looking for your life story. They want to know specifics on how your individual experience makes you the ideal candidate for the job. (more…)

Body Language: When You Ruin Your Interview Without Opening Your Mouth

In an ideal world, interviews would purely be about your skills and accomplishments. An interview would consist of placing your resume in a machine and watching it match you to the perfect position.

But we aren’t just our resumes. We’re people. Each one of us has our own personality, culture, and worldview. Those differences are what make successful teams.

However, your personal quirks are being reviewed in an interview just as much as your resume. An interviewer wants to know who you are as a person and how that fits into their particular team dynamic.

Unfortunately, there are certain habits or body language that can immediately dissuade an interviewer from hiring you. And you’ll never know what they are without someone to tell you. Luckily we’re here to do just that, using information from a CareerBuilder study.

Failure to Make Eye Contact

This was number one on CareerBuilder’s list of the biggest body language mistakes. And it makes sense—failure to make eye contact means three things to interviewers:

  1. You’re not confident in your skills. You might be meek or afraid to take on challenges.
  2. You aren’t a people person. Most jobs require some degree of human interaction, and not being able to handle an interviewer’s gaze doesn’t bode well for interacting with customers or other employees.
  3. You might be easily distracted. Lack of eye contact can sometimes come across as not paying attention.

Here’s how to know if you struggle with eye contact:

  • Go somewhere with someone in authority. It might a meeting with a professor, dinner with the in-lawws, or an appointment with your doctor. Challenge yourself to maintain eye contact with them during an entire interaction. If you can’t, you might have a problem.
  • Hold mock interviews with your friends or family. Have them ask hard questions, and try not to look away too often.
  • It’s important to note here that good eye contact is not constant eye contact. You don’t want to make your interviewer uncomfortable by staring at them constantly.

Failure to Smile

Here we have number two on CareerBuilder’s list. It’s easy to tell why this one is a problem. Your interviewer might think:

  1. You don’t like interacting with others and might be a problem on team projects or in customer service positions.
  2. You don’t really want the job in the first place. (Why are you here?)
  3. You dislike your interviewer.

If you’re a person who doesn’t smile very often, you’re probably aware of it. Friends might bring it up from time to time, saying you need to smile more often. And honestly? It’s ok if you’re not a super smiler. Some of us just aren’t.

But in an interview, you do need to smile. For all of the reasons stated above. Remember, your interviewer doesn’t know who you are as a person. They’re basing their entire approximation of who you are based on a 40 to 60-minute interview. So, you need to do everything you can to show them you’re right for the job.

Playing with Something on the Table/Fidgeting Too Much in His/Her Seat

These came in at third and fourth, respectively, on CareerBuilder’s list. We’re including them in the same section since they’re similar types of behavior.

An interviewer is here to speak with you. They expect to be your main point of focus. You should answer questions promptly and succinctly. If you’re engaging in the behaviors outlined above they might think:

  1. You’re bored and don’t want to be in the interview.
  2. You won’t be able to focus on projects if they hire you.
  3. You won’t be able to handle the pressure of the job in general.

Also, you shouldn’t touch anything on the desk unless prompted by your interviewer.

This is another behavior you might not be aware of. Next time you’re watching TV or talking to someone that outranks you, check how long you can stay completely still. If it’s an issue, take a few moments each day to meditate or sit still.

Not Quite Sure How to Up Your Interview Game?

Express Employment Professionals can help.

We have a video about interviewing in our Job Genius educational program.

And, if you’re looking for a job and more interviews in general, call your local office. Our recruiters will work with you to figure out your interview strengths and weaknesses.

Check out our online office locator to find a location near you and schedule an in-person visit, or apply online.