7 Common Mistakes Made by Freshers While Attending Interviews

With the ever-increasing competition within the corporate universe, the fact that jobs are getting scantier for freshers cannot be ruled out. While most of us are conscious about “getting the job”, we ignore “how to get the job done” in the first place, which is all about mastering the job interview.

It is natural for a fresher to feel overwhelmed, nervous or hassled before his or her first job interview. That feeling tends to get worse even before facing his or her first interview question, even if it is an easy one. A newbie’s strong first impression not only gives him/her extra points but also helps to undermine the fact that the applicant lacks experience.

Here are the most common mistakes a fresher does while attending an interview –

Appearing uninterested for interviews and poor body language

Bad body language and appear uninterested can be such a turn off for the interviewer and can really reduce your chances of getting the job, so always have a positive attitude, and a good body language that reflects confidence can really turn things in your favor. Freshers shouldn’t be over-the-top and be too peppy.

A firm handshake and smiling when talking can make a huge difference. While twirling your hair, shaking your legs nervously, or fidgeting with the pen can lower your chances of getting the job.

Being unprepared

Freshers should know everything you have learnt in college but that is not enough when you are sitting for a job interview. You should also know the details of the company and read the job profile before walking in and formulate your answers keeping those two sub-headings in mind. This will make your answer richer and tell the interviewer why you are right for the job. Many freshers make the mistake of not reading up on the company.

Talking too much or not talking at all

When attending a job interview, you need to maintain a good equilibrium between talking too much and not talking at all. Both are two extremes of the same thread and can cost you the job. While it is great to show enthusiasm, chattering away during the job interview can actually backfire. Don’t go off the topic and talk too much or too long.

Same goes for not talking enough. Your answer should be to the point but making it too crisp or short won’t help. Make sure that your answer is well thought out and you are not leaving the interviewer wanting more from your answer.

Using “um,” “uh,” “well,” “so”

Freshers while attending interviews use too much fillers like ‘you know’, ‘like’, ‘Ums and Ahs’, ‘well’, ‘actually’, ‘I mean’ etc these days. These words are unprofessional and would send a wrong impression about you to the recruiter. So freshers should avoid using these words.

Not asking good questions or asking the wrong questions at the wrong time

Ask questions to the interviewer, if you don’t it reflect that you are not interested. But don’t ask the wrong question. As a fresher, asking questions only about raises, promotions, vacation, and benefits are not usually well-received. Those questions apparently indicate that you are just interested in specific personal benefits rather than the job. Instead ask for details about the job — what an average day is like etc.

Being angry and irritated

You may be angry over an earlier fight with your friend, or anything else. Whatever the reason, dump the anger before the interview. Angry people are not people employers want to hire. Angry people are not fun to work with. They may frighten co-workers and/or customers or clients. They may also abuse both people and equipment (computers, cars, etc.).

Not collecting contact information or asking the next-steps questions

Many candidates leave the interview(s) with no idea of what will happen next in this employer’s hiring process. They also often don’t know who is the best person to contact as well as when and how to contact that person.  Then, as the interview ends, ask what the next steps in their hiring process are. Find out who your post-interview contact is and when and how to contact that person. Note the email address and/or phone number carefully.