Receiving an invitation for a job interview can be an exciting time. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to kill off all your chances of getting a job by saying just a few wrong words during your job interview.
To make sure your job interview leads to the next round or a job offer, here’s a list of words which you should aim to avoid:
- Um..
The biggest problem with this word is that you’re probably unaware of how much you use it. Unfortunately, this makes you look less polished during a job interview.
2. Kinda.
Not only does this word make you sound like a teenager, it also introduces vagueness into your answers. To make sure you come across confident and mature, replace “kinda” with clear “yes” or “no”. Follow your answer with a clear reason why you’ve taken that position.
3. Hate.
It’s not a good idea to express your hatred in an interview. When a hiring manager or recruiter hears you say that word, they hear “high risk candidate”. Avoid aiming this word at anyone or anything during your job interview. This includes “pet hates”, as well as feelings towards companies, ex-colleagues and – especially – bosses you’ve had.
4. Any Curse Word
Even if you think the company culture might find such words acceptable, don’t risk it at the interview stage. You’re risking coming across as unprofessional and uncultured, even.
5. Perfectionist
This is the most popular among overused, meaningless cliches. There was a time when “I’m a perfectionist” was a clever way to get out of a question about your weaknesses. These days, any interviewer will see through this ploy and cringe on the inside at your answer (and maybe on the outside, as well).
6. Basically
It’s tempting to use this word as a prelude to your achievements. For example, “Basically, I was responsible for flying the capsule to the Moon and back”. However, stay back from using it as it makes you sound pompous.
7. I
In today’s culture-centric employment world, you’re only as good as your ability to work as part of a team.
While competitiveness is a great trait to demonstrate, overusing sentences like “I was the top salesperson in my company” can give off the impression that you’ll take it too far, pushing your colleagues down and aside in order to get to the top.
By all means, brandish your achievements, but let your interviewer know what that meant for the team and/or the company. For example, “I was the top salesperson in my last role during 2013, which meant I was able to exceed my targets by 1.2 lakhs during that year.”
8. Sure
It’s tempting to use this word to communicate “it’s almost a yes.” However, doing this also chips away at your ability to appear confident. Just as with “Kinda” above, it’s best to remove any ambiguity about where you stand. Use a firm “yes” or “no” instead, expanding on your position if necessary by providing reasons and examples.
9. Amazing
This is a word which is often used as a filler to convey positivity. The hiring manager might say, for example, “We just spent $20 million on a brand new office fit-out.” Instead of blurting out “Amazing”, take a moment to think about the reasons behind such a move and provide analysis which the interviewer would find relevant. For example: “That must have done wonders for employee satisfaction.”
10. Whatever
“Whatever” is usually used to communicate that you’ve given up. It shows that you lost power and withdrew from the issue, instead of achieving an outcome which you found satisfactory. It also makes you sound immature and dismissive – using it will communicate to the interviewer that you’re trouble.
11. Stuff
Not only is this word overly casual in tone, it introduces ambiguity into your answers.
It can be tempting end your answer with it when you’re struggling to add detail – for example, “You now – stuff like that.” Doing sufficient research and practicing your answers will reduce that desire. Your interviewer doesn’t, in fact, know – they want to hear it from you in detail.
12. Dedicated
In today’s job market, everyone is dedicated. It’s no longer a differentiating feature. It’s also a hollow, overused cliche which shows that you probably copied your answers from the Internet, rather than preparing sufficiently for the interview by thinking about the role and your career. Demonstrate to your interviewer that you’re dedicated by talking about your achievements.
13. Learn
Don’t ever tell your interviewer that you’re applying for a job to “learn.” It’s true that you’re expected to learn, but the primary motivation for applying should be your ability to contribute something to the company that no-one else can.
In A Nutshell:
Interviews can be nerve-wrecking but if you know how to respond and what to say in response you can land on your dream job.
