Avoid Ruining Your Chances To Get A Job

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Most people make careful preparations when applying for a job and subsequently interviewing for them. Yet, there are so many instances where a clearly avoidable mistake may cost the applicant not only the job but leave a bad impression too.

These mistakes can range from outrageous acts or attires to an unprofessional comment. One needs to do a thorough research before embarking on a job quest and use one’s common sense too about what constitutes professionalism and what might make one a laughing stock instead of a successful candidate.

Interview Blunders

Wallace Immen in his article “How not to get that job” published in The Globe and Mail, exposes some of these blunders to draw a lesson from and advises serious job seekers not to repeat them at any cost. Immen’s article publishes research done on the topic by staffing service Robert Half based on real life interview incidents and cited by hiring managers in US and Canada.

The survey has brought out many funny responses given by the applicants that can only be termed “extreme mistakes”. For example, the article says, “When asked by the hiring manager if he (the candidate) had any questions for him (the manager), the candidate replied by telling a knock-knock joke” and another candidate “apparently keen to show his determination, handcuffed himself to the desk during the interview”.

Be Relaxed but not Careless

It is a well known fact that a person is prone to make mistakes when under great stress or pressure in any given situation. That’s why counselors of all disciplines tell us to relax and breath easily in any stressful situation. Relaxing your mind and body reflects in the resulting composure and since the brain will thus be clear, you’ll be answering the questions in a clear, relevant and comprehensible way.

However, there is a fine line between having an easy and friendly disposition and being careless. You could get away with a relatively loose remark while sitting among friends or acquaintances but it’s not the case with an interview panel. Here, every word that comes out of your mouth and your every body gesture may make or break your job selection chances. So be relaxed but don’t let your attention wander away from the gravity of the occasion.

Avoid These Mistakes

As a rule of thumb, these are some of the mistakes to be avoided among others by a job seeker:

• Never ever criticize or bad mouth a former employer or supervisor
• Do not point out any shortcomings that you perceive in the position applied
• If any compensation, salary or benefits are brought up by the manager, digest them with a cool mind first, instead of flying off the handle and giving an unreasonable response
• Always keep employer’s needs in mind as fulfilling an organization’s targets only would help to print your pay check
• You MUST dress professionally for an interview
• Be honest in your responses even if your Cousin Shady bragged that he bluffed his way into a job as it is only a matter of time before he will be exposed and would face trouble
• While in an interview, present a confident personality by taking on a good posture and answering queries with relevant and balanced length responses – neither too short nor too long

Some of the responses given by applicants to the above situations, as quoted by Wallace in his article, are hilarious (however, not for the applicants, for sure!) and a lot of little but important things can be learnt from them in order not to ruin your chances to get a job.

For full text of the article written by Wallace Immen, please visit:

“How not to get that job” by Wallace Immen – THE GLOBE AND MAIL