Things Job Seekers Say that Have Interviewers Scratching Their Heads
Alina Dizik, Special to CareerBuilder Just because you got an interview doesn't mean you'll know all the right things to say once you're in the interview chair. As a matter of fact, most people definitely have few stumbles before winning that job. When it comes to interviews, practice and experience make perfect, career experts say.
Here, interviewers and human resources experts share the things job seekers say that leave them scratching their heads:
"There are plenty of common interview questions, and when an interviewer asks one of the basics it is expected that the applicant will have a well-rehearsed response. For example, 'Why would you like to work here?' is a standard interview question, so one would expect interviewees would have a well-prepared response. I have heard people respond with all kinds of inappropriate reasons: 'because I live down the street,' 'because I am out of work,' 'because you offer benefits' ... None of these are responses that will impress an interviewer!" -- Chris Posti, president of outplacement firm Posti & Associates, Inc.
"The thing that always makes me scratch my head during an interview is when I ask 'What questions do you have for me' and they've got nothing or ask something lame like, 'What's it like to work here?' In the age of Google, doing enough research on the company to have some interesting questions ready for the interviewer is basically the price of admission." -- Scott Eblin, executive coach and author of "The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success"
"I like to ask interviewees to describe their work style. This question is intended to get at self-awareness and how the candidate may or may not fit into the company or work group. One interviewee's response stands out. He said, 'Well, Matt, I am actually an extroverted introvert.' Upon further probing, he said, 'I force myself to be a people person.' Between the contradictory remarks and clichés, I certainly was scratching my head after that question." -- Matthew Levy, president of Corner Office Career Coaching
"I was interviewing a woman for a position in our department. Right away she noticed I was wearing an engagement ring and proceeded to ask me questions about my upcoming wedding. She mentioned she was also recently married and spent five minutes offering me advice about the process (which I never asked for!). Needless to say, she steered the conversation away from the real reason she was there, which was unprofessional and did nothing to show off her work experience. Talking to me about my personal life was a clear signal that she'd be off task in the future." -- Karina P., account executive at financial services firm
"I was a marketing director at a multinational IT company, and it seemed that everyone wanted to be in marketing because it was the place to be: filled with energetic people, having a lot of fun. When we advertised for positions, many internal staff applied. I never knew if they really loved the marketing profession, or if they just wanted to escape their boring job. So one day an engineer insisted that he wanted to switch careers. Why would an engineer take a shine to marketing? It was a huge career change. He would have been great on the team, but I wanted to test his conviction. So I asked, 'Doesn't it bother you to take a $20,000 pay cut?' With that, he stood up, swore at me, and stormed out of the room. In fact, he would have earned $40,000 more in my department, but I wanted to check if he really meant all that fluff about 'loving marketing.' I was concerned that he just wanted an easy ride into a fun department, all for the wrong reasons. I set a trap, and he exposed his true colors. He stormed out of a $40,000 pay rise. The lesson is, beware the trick question. You never know how you are being set up." -- Jonar Nader, author and blogger at LoseFriends.com/blog
Alina Dizik researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.com. Follow @CBForJobSeekers on Twitter.
