There are some obvious things not to do during a job interview. Don’t show up late wearing ripped jeans, bash your old boss or tell crude jokes. Those are pretty clear cut while some are a little less obvious.
CEO/founder of Human Workplace, Liz Ryan, writes that it’s just as bad to go to a job interview and grovel and beg for a job as it is to show up unprepared or wearing wrinkled dirty clothes.
The five worst things you can say in a job interview according to Ryan are merely five different ways of begging for the job and in the process showing the interviewer that you don’t believe there is any good reason for an employer to hire you apart from your desperation.
The Five Worst Things you Can Say in a Job Interview
1. How many other candidates are you interviewing for this job? Keep your focus on the relevance to your background and your ideas, not how many candidates are in the mix.
2. If you hire me, I’ll work really hard. I’ll work nights and weekends — whatever is needed to get the job done. You want to get hired for your talents not because you’ll be available 24/7
3. How did I do in the interview? (or “Do you see any reason not to hire me?”) It’s natural to want to know how you did in the interview. Let the process play out.
4. I’ll take the job at a lower salary. Don’t settle for less than what you are worth.
5. Why don’t I do a project for you right now, for free, so you can see what I’m capable of? While some hiring managers may ask that you complete an assignment or project as part of the interviewing process, don’t dedicate an entire projects worth of work especially if the company can use in its business.
Preparation is your best friend when it comes to a job interview. Talk to your ICON concierge on coaching tips on how to be at your best.
