What to Do & What to Avoid on A Job Interview

I have been interviewing people daily for over 5 years now. Every day an average of 4/5 interviews. That makes at least 4.500 interviewed people! That is a lot, isn’t it? I have seen & heard a bit of everything. These experiences have given me very good insights into what to do and not to do during a job interview.

In this article, I am going to give some tips on this topic. I hope this helps those looking for a job and other recruiters to identify red flags. 

• Do not do a monologue. It is a job interview and the interviewer expects you to reply to the question while interacting with them from time to time. Interaction is needed. My advice is to reply to the question in 1-2’answer then interact with the audience and ask if more details are needed. 
• Keep the audience engaged. Try somehow to tell a story, starting from the beginning, following a chronological order, and trying to follow a structure. For example, you can walk the recruiter through your CV by explaining the achievements, challenges & cons of each of your work experiences. 
• Do not try to lead the interview. It is a red flag when the interviewee tries to lead the call. Follow the recruiter’s structure for the call, and let the recruiter guide you through it. Of course, you can ask questions but do not try to take over & lead the conversation. 
• Leave silences. Silences are good! Do not speak until the interviewer needs to interrupt you. It is a red flag when the interviewee just speaks for the sake of filling the silence. Recruiters appreciate silences since they give us room to think, process the information, and prepare the next question. 
• The salary question. I know this question is sometimes an uncomfortable topic for many but hey, everyone works for money! Recruiters appreciate it when the interviewee goes to the point. Just mention the salary you earn now and the specific increase you expect to change jobs or just your desired salary. Make sure you have converted this to the currency where the interviewing company is based in. 
• Be clear in your replies. We appreciate when interviewees go to the point and reply exactly to what we asked. There is specific & critical information we need to get within the first calls to decide if either move the candidate forward or reject, so it is important that we get it. Help the recruiter by being clear. You can give details or talk about something else, but make sure you reply to the question. 
• Time management. Manage your time based on the length of the interview. If you have a 30 min call, make sure you are not answering the 2nd question in minute 20. Beware of the time you have and organize your answers based on this. 
• Show a good energy level. Everyone needs energetic people, willing to get things done & motivate others. Show you are this kind of person! 

There are many other points that are important but to me, the ones above listed are the most critical ones. They relate to certain competencies which were needed within the environments I worked.

I am sure I am missing things, so I’d appreciate comments on this!