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50 THE FUNDAMENTALS

It is also important to note that making false claims is never a good
idea, but that during competency-based interviews, it is relatively easy
for an interviewer to catch you in a white lie when follow-up questions
are asked. If you exaggerate your level of experience, that quickly be-
comes evident. Remember, when you don’t have actual examples to cite,
answer the questions hypothetically, as described in Chapter 2.

A Potpourri of Other Interview Mistakes

Interviewers constantly encounter the classic interview missteps, which
they have grown accustomed to expect. And with job competition so
stiff, once a candidate makes a typical mistake, it is difficult to recover.
Do not fall into any of these interview pitfalls:

1. Taking Charge of the Interview. Though it is true that a candidate is
interviewing the company while the hiring manager is interviewing the
candidate, some candidates are too aggressive about the former. They as-
sume the role of interviewer and attempt to control the session. This
power play never fares well for the candidate. Keep in mind that, just as
you do not want to be interrogated, neither does the interviewer. As the
job candidate, you should take an active role in the interview, but allow
the interviewer to take the lead.

2. Scheduling Interviews Too Close Together. Competency-based inter-
views run long—sometimes sixty minutes or more. Schedule your in-
terviews accordingly, so you don’t put yourself in a situation of having to
choose between cutting an interview short or arriving late to another.

3. Believing the Interview Is a Gotcha Game. One of the assets of com-
petency-based interviews is that the interviewer lays the company’s cards
on the table. The questions that are asked reveal the proficiencies that are
considered most important to the position. In addition, the questions re-
veal the problems you may encounter if hired. Keep those two things in
mind when you start to feel that the questions are being asked just to
trick you. When an interviewer asks competency-based questions, be as-
sured that your answers are relevant to the position.

4. Being Too Modest. The main purpose of asking competency-based
questions is to give you the opportunity to describe your assets. The in-

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