Common Mistakes in Interviews

Common Mistakes in Interviews

I won’t go so far as to say it is the mistake that matters most or even the one that most interviewers will recognize, but let’s face it—interviewers are looking for reasons to rule you out as a candidate for the position. Perhaps some of them aren’t but most are and the sooner you learn that, the better. What does that mean? It means you should do everything possible to not make common mistakes in interviews.

But Grammar Isn’t One of Them

Using “there is” instead of “there are” is not a grievous error; in fact, it’s an error that few people recognize. I hear it misused daily, even on TV or in a movie. I read it in the paper and online. So what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that some interviewers will recognize the error. It will be as if you had a wart on the end of your nose. They won’t be able to get the image of the wart out of their mind, nor will they be able to eliminate the sound of your mistake.

Common Mistakes in Interviews

I did a previous blog about there is here, and other blogs about what not to do in an interview. If you want to be the one walking away from the interview with a job offer, do everything you can to make it perfect. One of those things is to use the proper grammar when speaking thereby avoiding the most common mistakes in interviews. Most people won’t care, but some may care, and you’ll never know if the person you’re interviewing with cares or not until it’s too late.

A few interviewers may cringe when they hear “there’s” instead of “there are”, and for those who do (as we said), it’s as if you had a big wart on your nose. The wart doesn’t have anything to do with the job; I realize that. Correct grammar probably has nothing to do with the job either—unless you’re interviewing for an editor’s job. But in both cases—assuming several candidates are similarly qualified—the discerning interviewer will choose the candidate without the warts, in other words, the one who spoke using proper grammar, the one who didn’t fall prey to the common mistakes in interviews.

Interviews are not difficult if you’re qualified for the job. Preparation is key, though. Browse through my website where you’ll find lots of articles on what to do and not to do during an interview. There are also articles on how to prepare. If those articles aren’t enough, try the book, which goes into far more detail. When you’re done reading the book, you should be aware of the most common mistakes in interviews, and more importantly, you’ll know how to avoid them.

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Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes nonfiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about grammar, publishing., and children’s fiction and nonfiction.

When Giacomo isn’t writing, he’s helping his wife take care of the animals on their sanctuary. At last count, they had forty animals—seven dogs, one horse, six cats, and twenty-five pigs.

Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who used to take walks with Giacomo every day.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with forty-five loving “friends.”