Career Advice

Former recruitment agency experts answer employment questions, candidly suggesting how to negotiate your salary, find a really good job, handle phone interviews, and more.

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Interviewing Tip

What Not to Say in an Interview


Preparing for an interview means thinking about what questions the interviewer may ask and thinking of what your responses and examples ahead of time. But the interviewer isn't just evaluating WHAT you say, but also HOW you say it. Are you well-spoken? Do you sound polished and professional? Are your answers clear and concise? You need good answers but you also need to also focus on the delivery. Here are some interviewing tips:

Skip the 'Filler':
When an interviewer asks a question, people tend to feel like they should fill the silence right away. When you speak before you're sure what you want to say you will tend to stall. That's when most people use "like," "ya know" and "ummm." This verbal filler is not very professional so do take a moment or two time to think about a question rather than rushing to answer.

Slang:
Never use slang in an interview. You must sound polished and professional. Similarly, never, use profanity in an interview.

Interuptions:
You rehearse your answers and want to impress the interviewer with your knowledge so sometimes when the interviewer starts to ask you a question people you jump right in. This is not a good idea since first, it's rude to interrupt and secondly, you may incorrectly assume that you know what the interviewer was going to ask and answer inappropriately. Finally, you want time to think about your answer before you start speaking, since as mentioned earlier rushing can lead to lots of mid-sentence "ummms". By taking your time, you'll appear calm, confident and polite. And, after taking a moment to think, you'll probably give a much better answer too.

Like any bad habit, these will take time to break. So start practicing before you have an actual interview by doing mock interviews and the like.