The purpose of this article is to cover the most frequent job interview mistakes made by applicants.  Although most of these points appear to be common sense, human resource professional often witness these pitfalls.


1.    First, turn off your cell phone during an interview.  A ringing cell phone won’t impress an interviewer.  With today’s reliance on cell phones, in our experience about 1 in every 5 applicants forget to turn off their cell phones during an interview.  

2.    Reciting your resume and cover letter is also something that’s common, but should be avoided.  The interview is your chance to expand on these documents and discuss your qualifications.


3.    Mumbling is another common mistake that can often be corrected with ease.   Some applicants mumble, are soft-spoken, or perhaps have a slight accent.  Remember to speak up and speak clearly when you are in a job interview. 

A useful exercise to refine interview skills is the use of role-play. Find someone who is willing to role-play some interview questions with you and ask them to provide feedback.  Hire a job interview coach with previous hiring experience.  For your convenience, we have a Mock Interview Exercise that simulates a real interview and contains grading tools to show ways to improve and reveal answering patterns.  You can also enhance this exercise with the use of an audio/video recording tool. 

4.    Over answering is one of the most common and easily correctable mistakes.  Over answering is also one of the biggest pet peeves among interviewer circles.  Know when to stop.  The interviewer’s body language can signal to the applicant when it is appropriate to stop answering.  These signals include briefly looking away, leaning away from the applicant, and shifting their positions frequently during your answer.  If you see one of these signs in your next interview, ask yourself: ”have I answered the question?” and act accordingly.  Try timing your answer to see the length of your response.  On average most people take between 5 to 7 mins to answer which exceeds the attention span of most interviewers.

5.    Avoid being negative.  While your previous employer may have been a tyrant and difficult to work for, it is not to your advantage to speak negatively about past work experiences.
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For business, we provide online education that can be branded to help you prepare your candidates for interviews and write better resumes.  Since our employment center can be branded with your logo, it will not only strengthen relationships, but increase your placements.  If you are looking to hire, post your jobs online and receive top applicants from Canada, USA and UK.

For job seekers, our online education and services will help you get more job interviews and more job offers.  Use our employment preparation services to give yourself a stand out resume and sharp interview skills.  We have made applying for jobs online easier than ever by providing you one of the largest job boards in Canada, US and UK.  We have over 1.5 million jobs online, apply today and find the right job!

For more information, see our Improving Inteview Skills course.

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