When it comes to getting a job, often getting to the interview stage is the challenging part. In fact, if you’ve secured an interview, you are in the lucky 2% of job applicants. It makes sense that you want to make the best of the opportunity. In fact, in a survey of 2000 bosses, 33% knew within the first 90 seconds of meeting a candidate if they were likely to employ them – so goes the saying: first impressions count!

So what are the mistakes that some applicants make in a job interview and how do you avoid them?

Show your interest

For the most part, there are more candidates than there are roles. If you’re not excited about a job opportunity, it’s probably best not to apply. To demonstrate your interest, ensure you ask enough questions about the company from information that isn’t easily sourced on the company website. Interviewers truly want you to be excited about the job, so use the information contained in the job description and from information sourced from the website to ask intelligent questions about divisional and company growth and your understanding of the macro environment that the company operates in.

Demonstrate Accountability

It’s funny how many candidates have never made mistakes in previous roles. If an interviewer asks you a behavioural-based interview question about a time that you have messed up, being honest is refreshing and will be respected by interviewers. Similarly, companies know to steer clear of candidates that pass the blame onto someone else or can’t demonstrate how they have learnt and grown from failure.

Be Professional

This is really the basics: don’t arrive too early, don’t arrive late, don’t trash talk your previous employer, don’t use your phone and don’t bring in a water bottle which may cause you to fidget. Being too early can inconvenience hirers as much as being late as they might be busy interviewing other candidates or have other meetings scheduled. Any candidate that speaks about a previous employer in an unfavorable way will be extremely unappealing for an employer. It’s considered a big red flag and hirers will assume that you will speak negatively about them also. Another thing to avoid is discussing remuneration too early into the interview. If an employer hasn’t decided as to whether you’re the right candidate, this can drop you to the back of the line.

Consider your body language

When it comes to sizing up a candidate’s employability, it turns out that it’s all about body language. Bright coloured attire? That’s a turn off, according to employers. Other non-verbal mistakes that candidates make which employers notice, include: playing with your hair or touching your face (21%), failure to make eye contact (67%), and lack of a smile (38%).

Is your interview technique up to scratch? If you would like support, speak to the recruitment team at Flexi Personnel.