5 Behaviors to Avoid in An Interview

Even though you might have done all the research in the world and held practice interviews from dusk ‘til dawn, you can still sink your chances of landing a job if you have bad personal habits.

Simply put, an interviewer must like you – a complete stranger – in order for you to get the job. If you come across as nervous, arrogant or even depressing to be around, you’re probably not going to get the job.

Here are a few bad behaviors you should try to avoid when you walk into your next interview.

Being nervous

While being a bit is to be expected, don’t let your nerves get the better of you and completely destroy the interview.

Like it or not, a job interview is a performance. Therefore, you should take a page out of performers’ playbooks and practice, practice, practice. Ask a friend to role play as your interviewer and get used to the idea of selling yourself to someone else. If you practice enough, almost to the point of tedium, you’ll develop a comforting routine you can lock into once the curtain goes up.

Being overconfident

At the other end of the spectrum, you don’t want to be so cool, calm and collected – you come across as overconfident. Avoid correcting the interviewer or asking the sort of probing questions that might flip the script and turn the interview into you interrogating the interviewer. If you have a bad habit of always trying to get the last word in, remember: You wouldn’t want to work with someone who always has to be right about everything.

Being apathetic

Ok, so you don’t want to be nervous, you don’t want to be cocky and you certainly don’t want to act like you don’t care.

That can be a tricky balancing act and a trick to achieving that equilibrium is to emphasize your passion. Don’t be coy about your interest in the job and don’t act like you just happened to fall onto this career path.

Being a Debbie-Downer

Many people detest the process of searching a job. It can involve a lot of rejection and frustration. Typically, job seekers are also feeling some kind of financial stress.

Like feeling a bit nervous, it’s totally normal to feel a bit beat down. However, because it is a performance, you can’t let that show in the interview. Strive to project confidence. If you’re not feeling it, learn to put on a good show. Fake it ‘til you make it, as they say.

Being resentful

During an interview, questions about past employers and pat supervisors are bound to come up. When they do, it’s best not to vent your frustrations or place blame.

If you were terminated or had a bad work situation in you past, try to be constructive and optimistic in the way you look back at it.

Are you looking for an IT job?

At Software Management Consultants, we work with professionals and coach them to perform well in the job interviews that we arrange for them. If you’re looking to partner with a talent placement firm that provides this level of support, please contact us today or check out these available jobs.