Nailing the job interview is essential to getting your dream job. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of five phrases you should never utter during an interview.
- “Sorry, the traffic was bad.”
The first rule is simple enough: don’t be late… but also try not to be too early. Make sure to give yourself more time than you need to get to the interview location, and aim to arrive 5-10 minutes before your scheduled appointment. There’s no situation in which being late would be excusable.
[Learn: Your Biggest Questions on Landing a Job Interview, Answered]
- “How did you get your job?”
It is rude to ask personal questions about your interviewer, as they are the ones in charge of the interview. Furthermore, asking how they landed their role implies that either they are underqualified knew someone at the company, or were just plain lucky. Stick to discussing neutral topics such as the weather – after all, everyone loves talking about the weather!
[Read: 6 Surprising Interview Questions—And How to Answer Them]
- “I don’t know.”
We’ve all been there- that challenging question comes up, and we have no idea what to say. drawing a complete blank can be embarrassing, but it is much better than mumbling an incoherent answer. If you’re ever in this sticky situation, take a deep breath, count to five if you need to, and give the best fake answer until you can make it real. interviewers would rather hear something thought out than “I don’t know.”
- “No, I don’t have any questions.”
When an interviewer asks if you have any questions and you don’t, it reflects two things: 1. It appears you didn’t do your research 2. If you’re not too thrilled about the positions, questions are a great way to show enthusiasm. Here are some question starters that will help jog your memory during the interview: Could you run me through what a day in the life looks like for someone in the role? Are there any especially exciting or interesting projects I would get to work on if I were to be hired? What sort of challenges might come up and how would they be handled? How is performance measured, both during training and once employed full-time?
[Read: Best of Levo: The Most Important Interview Questions and Answers]
- “What is the salary for this position?”
When you are offered a position, they will discuss your salary with you. If you bring up the topic before they do, it looks like all you care about is money. Be ready with your expected salary when they broach the subject so that you can be prepared to negotiate. (You can take a quiz on Salary.com to find out how much someone in your position with your level of experience should be making.). If you’re set on giving a number, give a range and say something like this: “From the looks of things, other positions similar to this one are paid between $x and $y. What’s your budgeted salary range?”
This content was first published in The Politesse.
