7 Interview Mistakes That Get You Rejected

PLUS: How to avoid them and ace your next interview

May 25, 2023

Read time: 3 minutes

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Today I'll be discussing 7 interview mistakes that get you rejected (& how to avoid them)

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Alright, let's dive into the 7 interview mistakes that are holding you back from getting hired.

7 Interview Mistakes That Get You Rejected

Let’s be honest


We all make mistakes.

And no one’s gonna have the ‘perfect’ interview. But if you avoid these mistakes, you’ll be much closer.

So what’re some common interview mistakes?

  1. No outloud practice

  2. No mock interviews

  3. No thank you notes

  4. No conciseness

  5. No confidence

  6. No stories

  7. No prep

Which mistakes have you made?

Let’s dive into these mistakes and how to fix them 👇

Mistake #1: No Outloud Practice

Do you practice outloud?

“Of course not that’s soooo awkward, I hate my voice”

Well
 you should start. I bet 99% of jobseekers don’t. Why? Cause it’s awkward. You heard me. It is awkward.

So what? You’ll get used to it. And it’ll help you stand out. Record yourself answering common interview questions through:

  • Imovie / iphone

  • Yoodli (AI tool for interviews)

Answer each question for 2-3 minutes.

Give yourself feedback. Then try again. Write some bullet points to guide your story. But don’t read a script. That’ll sounds like a đŸ€–

Analyze:

  • Your facial expressions

  • Your voice and tone

  • Your posture

  • Your ‘umms’

  • Your story

But the best way to practice?

Mock interviews.

Mistake #2: No Mock Interviews

What’s a mock interview?

It’s a practice interview. It can be with a:

  • Friend

  • Career Coach

  • Or someone in your target role

I’d say the 3rd one is the best. Why? Since they’ll have incredible insight into the role and interview. This will accelerate your interview prep by light years.

“How do I even setup a mock interview, I don’t know anyone to do it with?”

Well
 I’ve setup tons of mock interviews before. This is how:

I send a message to people in my target role at the firm I’m interviewing for. I send them a message like this


“Hey, I recently got an interview for your role (entry level consultant) at your company. It’s next week, and I’m super excited about it. I’ve been prepping like crazy and wanted to get as much practice as I can. I’m curios if you’d be open to answers a few questions about the interview process and helping me with a mock interview? No worries if you don’t have the time, appreciate any help!”

Many won’t answer. But some may help.

I focused on messaging people I had previously networked with pre-interview stage.

Bonus tip: Ask if you can record the mock interview. Rewatch it. And give yourself feedback.

Now are you ready to step up some killer mock interviews? Go get messaging.

Wanna know another huge problem? Rambling. Rambling. Rambling.

I tend to ramble too
 (can’t tell?)

But I’m working on it. And so should you.

Mistake #3: No Conciseness

Almost everyone rambles in interviews


It’s one of the BIGGEST problems I’ve seen. When you’re nervous, when you’re sweating, when you’re not sure what to say
 you start to ramble.

So how do you stop rambling?

  • Take deep breadths

  • Practice outloud

  • Try to relax

Have an outline of what you wanna say. Caught off guard? Don’t ramble. Answer the question specifically. Then stop talking.

Most people ramble after they’re done answering the core part of the question. And keep talking since they’re uncomfortable with silence.

Get used to it. And listen to the question so you know exactly what to answer.

Let’s move onto another HUGE problem


Lack of confidence.

Mistake #4: No Confidence

Do you believe in yourself?

Most people don’t. And it’ll cost you. If you don’t believe in yourself, its gonna be really really hard to convince others to believe in you.

An interview is all about selling yourself. Getting others to believe in the value you have.

So you need to be confident.

But how?

  • Use good posture

  • Make eye contact

  • Be prepared

  • Be yourself

  • Dress well

  • Smile

Is it easy? No. But it’s possible. What may be even harder than staying confident? Staying memorable.

Best way to be unforgettable? Tell stories.

Mistake #5: No Stories

Do you tell stories in interviews?

Or do you just share ‘what you did’ in a monotone boring voice (I hope not)
 Now let’s start telling stories.

What makes a ‘good’ story?

I like CARL


  • Context

  • Actions

  • Result

  • Learn

In other words, give some background to your story, share what you did, the impact of what you did, then what you learned (tie this back to the company / role goals)

It’s simple. But not easy.

Write your stories. Practice your stories. Record your stories. Eventually, they’ll become second nature.

But no matter how memorable your stories are
 they won’t get you far if you don’t understand the company or role.

And that’s why you need to prepare for the interview.

That leads us to the next big mistake


Mistake #6: No Prep

Are you prepping enough for your interviews?

Probably not.

Should you obsess over every interview?

No.

But should you prepare? Hell yeah. So how do you start?

Study:

  • The role through job descriptions and networking calls

  • The interviewer through LinkedIn & Google

  • The company through the news & blogs

In job descriptions look for:

  • What are their values?

  • What skills are they looking for?

  • What experiences do they value?

  • What transferrable skills do you have?

  • Do they specify a team or industry focus?

Then, become learn about the company
study:

  • Their Values

  • Their Services

  • Recent acquisitions

  • Recent partnerships

  • How they make money

  • What their future goals are

  • What challenges they have

  • How they’re product or services work

  • What new products they’re launching

  • How big they are (employees, market size)

Best for last? Thank you notes.

Mistake #7: No Thank You Notes

Are thank you notes gonna make or break your interview?

Probably not.

But do they matter? Yes they do. Why?

They take 30 seconds to write and hiring managers appreciate it. So why aren’t you sending thank you notes?

Here’s quick template you can steal:

Hi [name], I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me and discuss the [position] today. Our conversation made me even more excited to join [Company Name]. I enjoyed speaking about [specific topic discussed]. I’m a great fit for the role because of [reason 1, reason 2]. Excited to stay in touch.

Now I beg of you: don’t forget to send a thank you note next time.

P.S. If you don’t get their email, send it on LinkedIn

Now...

Wanna dive even deeper into these topics? (& ace your next interview?)

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P.S.

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