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40 Interview Mistakes Many

Job Seekers Make
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Other Red Flags You Should Avoid

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“Red flags also can arise anytime during the interview.
Make a few of these and your other red flags
may not make much difference!”

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ET’S PUT THIS WHOLE job interview process in perspective by examining
fre quent interview mistakes job seekers make. Most of these errors have nothing
Lto do with being an ex-offender or someone with a not-so-hot backgrounds.
Most actually occur while the interview takes place. Not surprisingly, job seekers make
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numerous inter view errors, many of which employers think are “unbelievable,” such as
showing up late for the interview!
Like resume and letter errors, inter view sins can quickly knock you out of the
competition. They are red flags indicating you have “issues” that the employer does not
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wish to inherit. Unlike many other job search mistakes, interview errors tend to be both
unforgettable and unfor giving. After all, this is the time when first impressions count
the most. Make a bad first impression and the remaining minutes of your interview will
be downhill and the door will permanently close behind you as you leave the interview.

Positive and Negative Goals of Employers

Employers have both positive and negative goals in mind. On the positive side, they
want to hire someone who can do the job and add value or benefits to their organization.
On the negative side, they are always looking for clues, or red flags, that tell them why
they should not hire you. After all, they have made hiring mistakes before. For example,
you may be another stranger who makes inflated claims about your competence, taking
credit for others’ accomplishments, in the hope of getting a job offer. Or perhaps you
know little about the company (couldn’t even find time to visit their website!), you
ask about salary and benefits early in the job interview, or you fail to ask thoughtful
questions – behaviors that usually indicate that a candidate is not really interested in the

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