Don’t make these 3 mistakes at your job interview

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Between new college graduates and employees who’ve recently been laid off, there are a lot of people on the job hunt. But there are three big mistakes candidates are making in interviews according to Robbie Caploe, VP/Group Publisher at Cynopsis.

The first mistake is not researching the company where you want to work. “If they haven’t looked at your website or your television show or anything that has to do with the company that you work for, it’s a real turnoff and it’s very clear, very quickly,” Caploe said. “You should look up the company that you want to work for, and frankly, do a little Google search and see what comes up when you look at news to see if they’ve been in the news lately. If there’s something you can bring up during the course of an interview, that indicates, ‘Yes, I’m interested. Yes, I care. Yes, this is the kind of ethic and interest that I would bring if I were lucky enough to work for you.’”

According to Caploe, another big no-no is badmouthing your current or former employer. Don’t complain about the boss, the pay or the long hours you worked. That may sounds obvious, but Caploe says it happens all the time. “Maybe it’s because we’re living in this post-COVID world where people think, ‘let me get on Zoom and I’ll just be talking to somebody like he or she is a friend of yours,’” she said. “Here’s a bulletin: they’re not a friend of yours. They are the person from HR or they are a potential boss, so you really you want to be on your best behavior.”

The third mistake — and one that is easy to fix — is simply not asking for the job at the end of the interview. “A lot of people are very good at saying, ‘Thank you. I appreciate it.’ And maybe they’ll send a follow-up email or sometimes people send a follow-up text, which I personally do not think is a good thing to do, but I’m always really impressed when somebody says, ‘You know what? I really enjoyed the conversation and I really want the job.’ It’s about asking for the business, so to speak.”

You’re likely not the only candidate, and that could be the lasting impression that sets you apart from everyone else.

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