Top 10 Worst Mistakes That Make For a Bad Interview - #9

On my career coaching blog, I am currently covering the top 10 worse mistakes in a job interview. All of these are simple oversights that lead to a bad interview.

Over my days of Executive Recruiting I have counseled with both entry level and managerial level job applicants and have been a part of some bad interviews. What contributes to bad job interviews?



In this article we are going to talk about:-

#9 Acting like an expert in an area where you have no prior experience:
           

Occasionally, we wish for the job so bad that we strive too hard to bend things in our direction by stretching the truth. Of course, the purpose of a job interview is to do your best to relate your experience to the questions being asked. Yet, what can you do with questions that are well further than your scope of knowledge?

Do you tell a story?
           
Sometimes we are faced with this dilemma and are not sure what to do. Now, you should always make an effort to get your experience to fit somehow with the questions that are being asked, but when it feels way out of reach....

Exhibit Honesty:
           
In most cases, you would actually be celebrated for your sincerity. I had a job seeker once who when asked a tough question simply said:
         
"To be truthful, that really is outside of my knowledge. I could go on and make an effort to stretch the truth and cause you believe that I am experienced in that area, but I am not."
           

He said the business owner sat back in her chair and said no one has ever been that truthful with me before in a job interview. He ended up getting the job.
           
Now will that automatically happen to you if you give the same answer? Maybe not. It is your values and uprightness that will stand out. If you have been around accounting long then you know that those are two very important qualities.
           
Here is what you need to have down pat: If you come across as someone who stretches the reality, it will always lead to a bad job interview.
           
In your next consultation interview let your honesty shine and your integrity show. Decide to be direct and open.