Interview Mistakes to Avoid, that You Don't Know You're Committing

There are some common missteps that should be avoided during interviews, at all costs, if you want a shot at the position. These are not minor mistakes made by nervousness, but deal breakers that have employers questioning your reliability and character. From my experience as an employer and supervisor, the worst interview mistakes typically occur without the interviewee ever realizing anything is wrong.

Don't ask to bring your children. Even kid-friendly work places will think twice about a potential employee who asks to, or even just brings, children to an interview. I have had many interviewees do this through the years and it rarely goes well. Even if a child can behave during the process, it still looks bad. You don't want potential employers wondering how you are going to handle childcare to come to work, if you cannot even find a babysitter for an hour.

Don't ask for time off, before even being hired. By all means ask about absence and time off policies. That should answer your questions, in a roundabout way. Remember, a business is hiring because they have a position vacant that needs to be filled. I have passed on hiring otherwise qualified candidates, after discovering they would not budge from immediately needing a significant amount of time off that would subsequently hurt production.

Avoid talking smack about previous employers during an interview. This may cause interviewers to think you will broadcast your dismay if terminated from their company. It is never a good sign if they are already contemplating termination, before you get your foot in the door. This type of disparaging talk can also make you appear to be a negative person and many companies put a lot of effort into positive thinking.

Don't give "they didn't know how to do things" or "like the better way I did things" as a reason for leaving. It cannot be stressed enough how unimportant it is if one of these, or similar, statements are true or not. It will be assumed you either cannot follow directions or are a difficult employee. You do not want to seem unable to fit into company protocol or be hard to work with.

Never give a personal reference without checking ahead of time. Especially, without knowing what they will say. I have checked potential hire references that have said they barely know the interviewee. Even worse are the "don't tell them I said this, but they are rude/lazy/always late/etc" responses.