The goal of every job search has one major objective: get interviews . It really is all about the interviews. Never forget that. Some people enjoy networking, going to lunch and getting to know new people or doing detailed analysis on the health of a company or industry. However, nothing really matters until you are sitting face to face with someone in an interview. Also, your follow up strategy is just as important. Once your done reading this post, read my post on thank you letters as well.
Once you get to the interview, you need to make sure that you are "at your best." You definitely want to put your best foot forward when you finally get an interview. That being said, I am still amazed at the number of simple mistakes that candidates make when they are in the interview process. I came up with what I believe are the Top 10 Fatal Mistakes Made in an Interview.
I went through these recently with the students in the Job Search Mastermind program and I thought it would be helpful to share here as well. Of course, we cover a lot more information on the interview process in the program, but if you will commit these 10 mistakes to memory you will significantly benefit in your job search.
#10: Providing Too Much Information
Some candidates mistakenly believe that the more information they can give the better off the interview process will go. They believe that if they say enough, something will sound good and resonate with the interviewer. However, the opposite is true. Remember, that the interviewer is still trying to figure out what you are all about. Any negative information that you might give is double the weight of good information.
More often then not, providing too much information happens for two reasons:
1. Too Nervous – When people are nervous they can have a tendency to ramble and say too much. You want to make sure that you harness that energy and point it in the right direction. Take a deep breath and try to focus you answer to the question. Think about giving your answers in a form of a paragraph. Do not give a sentence answer as that is too short and be sure not to tell a short story or a novel as that is too much information.
2. Too Out-Going – Some people have bigger then life personalities and that is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, people with enthusiasm and energy have more successful interviews. However, you need to be able to harness this energy and use it to benefit you. You need to have intuition and see that the person that is interviewing you is in fact "on the same page with you." If they are easy going and laid back do not intimidate them by talking too much and giving out way more information then they are asking for.
Measure yourself and be sure that you are not providing too much information. Remember my tip: Give your answer out in a short paragraph. A sentence answer is too short and a short story is way too long.
