During your interview, great answers are always important. It helps the hiring manager determine whether you are a good fit for the company and the position or not. 

But do you know that what not to say in an interview also matters a lot? Sometimes you never know that you may end up ruining all your impressive answers with a bad one. 

The best way to overcome this is to prepare yourself for all the answers you surely need to cover and also those which you should never say. In this article, we will cover some tips for what not to say in an interview and substitute answers for them. 

Why does what not to say in an interview matters a lot?

Everything you say in an interview counts. Each word helps the recruiter decide whether you are the right choice for the job or not. And if in such terms you said something that is not up to the point then you can lose your chance. 

Also, your positive and calm attitude tells the recruiter that you will prove to be a good fit for the company’s environment. 

5 things you should avoid saying in a job interview:

These tips will help you in your interviews;

1. Negative remark about the previous employer

Based on your resume, interviewers ask questions like, “why you left your previous job”, or “what makes you feel like switching to a new job”, and so. Answering these kinds of questions in a manner that never looks like a negative remark makes you look professional and smart in front of employers regardless of the situation. 

overqualified for a job

Your positive answer to these questions can make the interviewer feel confident that you will never bad-mouth them in the future. While answering these questions try to focus on your position and possible chances you could have got there, that you are looking for in this job field. 

Example: I enjoyed the time in my current position working and polishing my experience in Social media Marketing for 3 years. But unfortunately, my current employer doesn’t have any “writer” posts and I have a great interest in writing. 

2. “I don’t know”

You can not always be prepared for each and every question that comes your way. This is your chance to show your critical thinking and skill. 

career mistake

You should never give up and say “I don’t know”, ask for a minute, and prepare your answer. 

Example: “Great question” but if you don’t mind I would want to take a minute to prepare myself. 

3. Discussions regarding salary, benefits, vacation, etc.

An interview is a place and time for you to convince the hiring manager with your skills and experience that you are the best fit for the position. So avoid asking about benefits, vacation time, and salary, let the interviewers start this topic. 

Or at the best, wait till they offer you the job, then start the negotiation. You can ask all these questions at the end of the interview. Be subtle while asking these questions and don’t force the interviewer if they are not answering them. 

Example: May I ask you about my benefits and salary in the next conversation?

4. “It’s there on my resume”

Maybe the answer you have to give is clearly detailed in your resume, but still, try to answer it in your own words and add all the additional details. The interviewer is asking you questions after reading the resume. So if the answer to their question is already in the resume then they probably want to know something more about the answer or they are cross-checking the information.

resume for personal branding

Tip: Answer these questions according to the whole interview scenario and tailor them to your job position. 

5. Unprofessionalism

It is the foremost thing to remember for every candidate, never lose your professionalism during any official matter, especially an interview. Now, you can attain this through professional language.

Resume criticism

Don’t worry you don’t have to be industry jargon, but you need to avoid unprofessional languages like slang, profanity, and filler words (“yup” or “um”).

Tip: Mostly when people slow down during the interview, they tend to use more unprofessional language. Take your time and then respond for a clear conversation. 

Conclusion:

It is important to know what to say in an interview, but it is more important to know what not to say in an interview. Your 10 right answers can be overpowered by one wrong answer. 

In this competitive time, employers look for candidates who are the best among all. And any silly mistake can kick you out of the game. 


cvDragonIndia

CVDragon is an online platform that helps you create your resume quickly and professionally. It removes the hassle and struggle of figuring out what to include and how to format everything by offering "Key Phrases" written by experts and more than 50 resume formats and styles.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *