The Most Common Fuckups During a Job Interview. How to Get Your Dream Job

Getting a dream job, either for the first time in your life or changing a career to discover new opportunities for development is one of the major challenges for everyone. Finding a decent position, composing a quality CV and eventually getting an interview involves a lot of time and efforts. Each of these stages is quite cumbersome, but an interview with a potential employer requires consistency. And that is why it needs detailed preparation.

Think about it, a company that receives 200 CVs invites only 5 candidates to the job interview on average. Thus, such invitation can already be seen as a first good sign. However, don’t forget that the bigger the company and the higher the position you are applying for, the more interviews you will have to go through (with a recruiter, head of department, company director). However, in this case, more means better, because it is a valuable experience.

The COVID-affected reality demonstrated that many companies have changed the working conditions. Some people work from the office, others from co-working spaces or from their homes.

Remote interviews have become usual, so as remote work. Thus, it is necessary to get prepared for various interview formats (online and offline).

Let’s have a look at some classic mistakes applicants make during the selection process and how to avoid such ‘fuckups’.

The worst fuckups during an offline job interview

1. Being late means disrespect, coming early is annoying.
2. Lack of knowledge about the company, its history and victories show that you’re not totally interested.
3. Being very shy may be comprehended as weakness, overconfident – as arrogance.
4. Talking about previous job and colleagues without respect can create an impression that you’re a scandalous person.
5. Talking about your flaws or, on the contrary, praising yourself too much reflects badly on your objectivity.
6. Emphasizing too much on salary and bonuses may make it seem like you are greedy.
7. Lack of interest to a dress code means neglecting the company’s corporate policy.
8. Not asking questions about the company may show indifference.

The worst fuckups during an online job interview

1. Failure to set up the PC in advance (when camera or sound doesn’t work).
2. Leaving a mess in the background, which shows your sloppiness.
3. If your pets or family members appear in the background, it can undermine an interview formality.
4. Eating during an interview shows the ultimate rudeness towards the interviewer.
5. Forgetting about time zones and rescheduling an interview.
6. Avoiding looking at the camera, forgetting about the eye contact with the interlocutor and having your mind somewhere else.

One can imagine, there may be plenty of mistakes. How to avoid them?

Our top tips

1. You should thoroughly prepare for a job interview. No need to memorize any special phrases.
2. You should wear neat clothes and be in a positive mood.
3. Speak clearly and confidently during an interview.
4. Demonstrate your professional skills in your answers.
5. Make eye contact and be honest.
6. Talk about your hobbies easily, but don’t be too open.
7. Thank interlocutors for their time.

And remember: an interviewer learns 55% of the information about you from non-verbal signals (look, facial expression, gestures, walk, posture, etc.), 38% from your tone of voice (rhythm, tempo, melody) and only 7% from what you say.

Use our tips and get your dream job!