Top Eight Word Mistakes
Candidates Make in Job Interviews
1.Use language that is
too informal
It is important to
remember that you are interviewing for a job, not trying to make a new best
friend. Too much familiarity can hurt your chances by making you look
unprofessional.
Poor Phrase:“I’m
sure you guys are aware that the job market is in the dumps right
now. It’s been one heck of an uphill battle for me for the past year.”
Perfect Phrase:
“Unfortunately, as I am sure you are aware, the job market is still tight, and
there is a great deal of heavy competition for the same jobs.”
2.The use of words that
are vague
Words such as “a
lot,”“various/multiple,” and “great deal of” are vague and don’t give the
interviewer the needed information.
Poor Phrase: “I
have had a lot of experience with various lines of multiple products.
I am proud of the results I’ve had in saving the company a great deal of money.”
Perfect Phrase: “With
over eight years experience working in the paper industry and primarily selling
photo paper, I consider myself an expert on the subject and have saved my
clients as much as 20 percent on orders over $5000.”
3.Misuse of pronouns
It can be very
confusing and words can be misinterpreted when pronouns are misused. Be
especially alert to this when you are using the pronouns “we,”“I,” and “you.”
Poor Phrase: “We
were behind on our project, and we decided that we would
stay and finish the job rather than miss our deadline. We pulled
it together, and we were able to meet our deadline.”
Perfect Phrase:
“I worked with a team of designers to bring a project in on time. We each took
responsibility for a particular area. We worked closely, but at the same time
we were completely disconnected from one another. This seemed to work because
my four counterparts and I managed to pull the project together on time.”
4.Using
company-specific words
Each company has
certain terms that are indigenous only to that company. Outsiders will not know
what you are talking about if you use these terms. This is especially true if
you have worked for a public organization or the military. You should use as
many specific words as possible in your interview so that the hiring manager
knows you are familiar with your industry.
Poor Phrase: “While
I was working on the 767 project,
I discovered an error
in the “Whichamaculit” used to produce our 656 product line.
This was a really
costly mistake.”
Perfect Phrase: “At
my last company there was a particular marketing project that involved a
software conversion.
Because of my strong
attention to detail, I was able to catch an error that would have cost the
company millions of dollars.”
5. Assuming everyone
knows the acronym you are using
Acronyms are used at
every company—shortcuts used internally to eliminate a lot of words. Avoid
using these in an inter- view because the hiring manager may not be familiar
with the acronyms used at your current company.
Poor Phrase: “I
was considered an SAR and supported three line reps who were in
the SWSC area.”
Perfect Phrase: “My
position title was sales associate representative, and I supported the sales
representatives who were responsible for the southwest area of South Carolina.”
6. Describing skills by
using “weak” words
Beware of small words
that can sabotage your credibility—words like “pretty,”“most of the time,” and
“kind of.”
Poor Phrase: “I’m
pretty good with computers—at least most of the time I am. I kind
of taught myself most of the programs.”
Perfect Phrase: “I
am very knowledgeable about Unix software. When I was unfamiliar with programs
in the past, I taught myself in less than two weeks. I am a very quick
learner.”
7.Use too few words to
answer the question
One pet peeve many
interviewers have is not getting enough information. When a candidate answers a
question with one or two words, it’s impossible to make a judgment as to
whether this person is the right person for the job.
Poor Phrase:“Yes,
I have had experience in that area.”
Perfect Phrase: “I
have over 10 years working with biotech testing. If you were to ask any of my
coworkers, they would tell you that I hold the record for the least number of
mistakes when using testing equipment.”
8.Talking too much—not
getting to the point
When you fail to
prepare for the interview, you can easily ramble and go off the subject down
some other road. A rule of thumb is, “Your answers should be no longer than
two to three minutes long.”
Poor Phrase: “My
last company has developed software to support government enforcement of
firearms violators. This nationwide project will be the first of its kind and
will allow users to investigate firearms traffickers and purchasers. The
software is able to track violent offenders and unscrupulous federal firearms licensees.
This product will allow users to investigate and prosecute violators and felons
by tracking their activities from remote locations. The product has been developed
in cooperation with the U.S. government and will hopefully be purchased and
used by all branches of law enforcement agencies that could use this tracking
method. The company has invested over two years in developing and perfecting this
product and has invested a great percentage of the company’s revenue in it,
betting that this is going to have a big payoff long term. Short term it has
put a considerable squeeze on the finances needed to run everyday work projects.
If it is successful, it will be a huge coup for those who have hung in there.
If it is not successful, it will be a huge loss to the company and will
probably result in massive layoffs. So the whole project is going to make or
break the company and it’s future.”
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