There’s abundance advice out there to prepare
what you’re going to say in a job interview: study questions the interviewer
might ask, carry out your answers and come up with relevant questions of your
own…
However
what about rehearsing what you’re not going to say?
I put together a list below of a few terms
you’ll want to try to avoid at your next job interview, because even though
they seem like just ordinary words, they could be major red flags for an
interviewer or recruiter.
No:
First of all, if asked even an easy
question, you don’t want to give a single word reply (yes or no). But when the
answer is no, definitely don’t leave it there! For example, if asked if you
know a particular computer program, and you don’t, you could say, “I haven't
yet had a chance to learn it but would be interested to do so,” rather than simply
saying “No.”
Er… Um…:
That old saying, “If you don’t have
anything to say, don’t say anything at all,” applies here a big. Rather than
hemming and hawing while you try to think up an answer, just be silent and
think. Saying er or um too much could make you seem unprepared or as though
you’re not paying attention.
Whatever, OMG, bae… groovy?:
Lose the slang when talking to an
interviewer. You want to come across as polished and professional, and you
don’t want them to have to dig out their urban dictionary to understand you.
Sure, cool, kinda…:
These kinds of words are just too
casual, even in a casual workplace. You should be presenting the best version
of yourself, not the sloppy, casual version.
We:
This one seems innocuous at first, but
if you use it a lot when discussing job duties and accomplishments, the
interviewer might start to wonder if it was you or your team that was
responsible. Try to use “I” as much as possible.
Dedicated, motivated, team player...:
Lose the resume speech and jargon.
Besides the fact that these words are incredibly overused in interview
situations, they’re also better demonstrated than just stated. If you want to
convey your dedication or motivation, share an example from your past work
experience; examples will go much further to making your claims believable.
Leverage, synergy, ideation…:
I’d avoid using too much commerce
jargon. The chances that you’ll come off sounding like an idiot are just too
high. Too much business buzzwords or jargon tends to make people sound
pretentious, or worse, downright stupid.
“Hit the ground running,” “Circle back…”:
These kinds of cliches have little to no
meaning, they’re just verbal fluff, and they don’t add something to what you’re
saying. So put down them out.
Hate:
I can’t think of a single case when
saying you “hate” something in a job interview is correct, but it’s very unsuitable
to say anything about hating your former job, co-workers, boss, etc.
Perfectionist:
It’s happen to almost a cliche in and of
itself to answer a question like, “What’s your main flaw?” with a optimistic
flaw like, “I’m a perfectionist.” Any good interviewer will see right through
that, so just don’t do it.
Do you agree or disagree with this list?
Any other words you’d insert? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments
below.
