7 Innocent Job Interview Mistakes People Make Daily

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By J.T. O'Donnell, Inc.

Interviewing is hard. Making these mistakes will make it worse.

Getting job interviews is hard. Even worse, when the economy is good, everyone looks for a new job, making the competition even tougher than in a bad economy. Therefore, if you're lucky enough to land a job interview, it's really important you prepare. Interview mistakes are easy to make and difficult to undo. Here are the seven most common blunders job seekers make today:

1. Being unable to effectively answer behavioral questions. This questioning technique is used to get inside your head. If you don't know how to respond correctly, you risk being eliminated
2. Not preparing for the hardest interview questions in advance.There are 7 questions that everyone should be ready to answer or risk failing in the interview.
3. Not being able to articulate properly why you're unique. Offering up the wrong reasons why you are special can be a deal-breaker.
4. Failing to explain why you want the job. Knowing what to say (and, not to say) about your desire to get hired is vital to moving forward.
5. Asking about certain benefits too soon in the process. When you ask about pay too early in the interview cycle, you look greedy.
6. Not being well-spoken. While you don't want to sound too stuffy or formal, being able to articulate responses in a clear and compelling fashion is a must.
7. Being too wordy. Long-winded answers that take the listener all over the map, are the quickest way to get rejected. If you're that verbose in the interview, they'll assume you'll be 10X worse on the job.  

3 Bonus Tips To Make You Stand Out

There are a few things you can do proactively in an interview to improve the chances you move on to the next round.

A) Ask (the right) questions. Certain questions not only help you better understand what it would be like to work there, but they also make you look impressive. 

B) Knowing how to make the interview feel less awkward. Meeting someone for the first time, especially on the phone, can be unnerving. Knowing how to disarm the interviewer so you both can relax can help you be perceived better.

C) Demonstrating you're a team player. Learning how to let the interviewer know you play nice in the sandbox and are fun to work with is a great way to get them to want to introduce you to other employees so you can convince them to vote for you to get hired.

P.S. - Winging Job Interviews Can Cost You Thousands of $$$

The time you invest in improving your interview skills is worth thousands of dollars to you. The better you do in an interview, the more likely you'll get hired. Plus, you can potentially negotiate a higher salary. Once you're the chosen candidate, most employers don't want to lose you, putting you in the driver's seat of negotiations. Don't waste your opportunity due to lack of preparation. Get your skills up to par so you can make the most of every job interview you go on!