Five Mistakes You Absolutely Must Avoid in a Job Interview

Congratulations! After sending dozens or even hundreds of resumes, you finally got called in for a job interview. You're ironing your shirt in excitement, planning how to arrive exactly on time, and murmuring a chapter of Tehillim for success.

Unfortunately, even if you're truly the ideal candidate for the job, you might still ruin your chances of getting it with your own hands. Yes, even if your shirt is perfectly ironed and you arrived on time. So how do you avoid major mistakes in a job interview? Here are five common mistakes experts warn against.

1. Badmouthing the previous employer. Even if your current (or former) boss was a true sociopath, you simply can't say that in an interview. You can explain that you're looking for new challenges, that a different atmosphere or niche suits you better, or find any other reason for changing your workplace—as long as you're not trying to explain to the interviewer how horrible your previous job was. Such explanations only mark you as a negative, petty, and possibly vengeful person.

2. Being too formal. While Israelis may tend more towards the extreme of casualness even in inappropriate contexts, that doesn't mean the right way to show up for an interview is with the demeanor and mannerisms of the Queen of England. Even if you're interviewing for a senior position and have experience from prestigious workplaces, you still won't get the job if the interviewer gets the impression that a professional snob is sitting in front of them, too arrogant to smile, or just a cold iceberg devoid of human warmth. As in everything, it's important to find the golden path. And a pleasant smile has never hurt anyone's reputation.

(Photo: shutterstock)

3. Lack of focus. If you've come for an interview for a specific position, focus the conversation on that role and on the relevant experience and skills you have for it. Don't try to impress the interviewer by telling them about the wide range of skills you have, the vast experience in work unrelated to the current position, or your fantastic fit, in your opinion, for another role—which is not the one currently on the table.

4. Non-specific answers. When the interviewer asks, 'How do you think you'll handle this aspect of the job?' the right answer is not 'Oh, I learn quickly' or 'I'm not worried, I've dealt with tougher things.' What the interviewer is waiting to hear from you are specific answers. For example, 'In my previous job, there was a similar challenge (details!), which I solved\/dealt with in the following way (details!) and achieved the following results (details!).' As many concrete examples of your professional achievements as possible, in short, and as few vague and general statements as possible.

5. Taking over the conversation. The interviewer is the one who should lead the conversation. You can certainly ask a few questions of your own—towards the end of the interview or when the interviewer explicitly gives you the opportunity to do so. But most of the time, the interviewer is the one who should lead the conversation. Don't ask them personal questions, don't inquire: 'Between us, what's it really like working here?' and don't give the impression that you are the one interviewing the company to decide if you'll deign to work for them—and not the other way around.