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Common Interview Advice That Could Harm the Development of Your Career!

Despite coming from a clean heart, most people provide young professionals with interview advice that to be honest, isn’t doing them a solid when facing potential recruiters.

This advice usually comes from family and friends who have good intentions, but not a clue about the current nuances and circumstances of today’s interviewing spectrum.

Times have changed, and so have the dynamics of applying for a job and attending an interview.

Not all advice is good advice, and some of the common interviewing advice mentioned here have ruined a potentially great career

Understanding the Interviewing Process

Take for example a young son getting interview advice from his father. Mind you, his father got his first job back in the ‘70s and stayed with the same company for the rest of his life.

Now, he might advise his son to dress to the nines, have a serious demeanor, and be calculated and straight to the point when responding to the interviewer’s questions.

However, the dynamics of interviewing have totally shifted in this day and age of millennials.

Today, traits such as confidence and charisma are what make the interviewee own the spotlight, and convince the recruitment team that he or she is the perfect fit.

Apart from advice by close friends and families, there is also a myriad of online blogs written by anonymous bloggers (or preferably bloggers that like to go by a pseudonym) that relay information that isn’t in synch with the reality on the ground.

Interestingly, some of these bloggers are young blokes straight out of college who have not amassed any real-life experience with interviews.

Innocently, they impart this information on to their subscribers who at the time, are prepping for their first ever interview. In the end, these interviewees blow their chances to smithereens due to making all the misguided mistakes that they read from their favorite blogger.

What’s even worse is that these ‘no-no’ markers are easily distinguishable during an interview from a psychological and physical point of view. Whether it’s being a nervous wreck and stuttering, to simply avoiding eye contact with the recruiter during the interviewing process, you can trust the interviewer to take note of them.

Keeping this in mind, here are some of the misguided pieces of advice that you should avoid while prepping for your next interview.

It’s wise to get advice from a qualified professional in your given area of interest who has done many interviews in the past

Not Accepting the First Offer

It’s a song that’s been sung by and by. Most people like to tell young professionals not to accept the first offer that the interviewer throws at them.

Rather, they should play it cool and throw a counteroffer on the table to swing the odds in their favor.

There’s just one problem with this strategy.

It’s YOUR FIRST JOB INTERVIEW!

At such a point in time, you neither have the experience nor resolve that comes from attending multiple interviews to negotiate your desired rates.

If you are looking to build your career, then there’s no shame in starting small. As the ancients quipped, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Controlling your emotional and mental mind state is vital when it comes to successfully completing an interview

Be Aggressive During the Interview

The second you enter the interviewer’s office, your demeanor shifts to that of a pit-bull. Yes, you are here to be interviewed for a job, but you are going to grab this opportunity by the teeth and argue your way into a steady paycheck.

Unfortunately, the proverbial line thrown here and there is that you should be aggressive with what you want and not be willing to compromise with the interviewer.

Here are my demands, take them or I’m leaving

The only problem with such a mindset is that the hiring manager and recruitment team will immediately assume that you’re the most difficult person to work with, even though you’re a slice of dedication straight out of heaven.

In the event that the interviewer is aggressive, you can also learn subtle ways to handle the situation.

Don’t Bother with Human Resources

Your contemporaries might tell you that you shouldn’t waste precious time engaging in interviews with human resource.

Indeed, most people view HR as a complacent arm of a company simply because they fail to see that HR is where vital feedback about the interview is collected to see who gets axed and who proceeds to the next round.

As a matter of fact, it would be wise to connect with HR as much as possible to increase your chances of a successful interview process.

Play the Long Game

Perhaps this can do you a solid in the dating game, but when it comes to the world of interviews, you will certainly come across as indifferent and standoffish.

The last thing anyone would want to do is hire an apathetic person who does not commit to the goals and desires of the company.

Show interest and a positive demeanor towards getting the job in order to improve your chances of successful recruitment.

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