American expert on recruiting top talent and journalist Lou Adler writes mostly about how recruiters and hiring managers should conduct interviews with job applicants. This time, however, he focuses on applicants and advises them: "Don’t take it personally when you don’t get a job you feel you deserve. It’s usually due to a weak interviewer, not a weak candidate." In another of his articles on the LinkedIn social network, he described several steps to help you increase your chances of getting a job. Focus on the following typical mistakes made by interviewers.
1. Insufficient knowledge of the job's real needs
The recruiters who interview you often emphasize only general requirements such as professional experience, assertiveness and teamwork. If you want to show that you are the best person they can hire, ask for specific situations you will have to deal with in the job and how you should solve them successfully. Then describe any similar experiences you have had. Use the most accurate examples from your previous jobs.
2. Decision-making based on first impressions
Lou Adler advises recruiters to wait at least 30 minutes before deciding who to hire or invite to the next round of interviews. Most of them, however, decide in the first 2-3 minutes. If you keep quiet and show a lack of confidence at the beginning of the interview, you will not get far. You will be passed over by more assertive candidates who could be, by far, the weaker candidate, lacking the qualities you have. How can this be avoided? Ask for a telephone interview first. You could also prepare some relevant questions to start the interview with such as: "Can you summarize your job offer quickly before we start the interview?"
3. Overestimating technical knowledge and length of experience
Show that you do not only have theoretical knowledge, but that you can use those particular technologies in specific situations. If the recruiter only asks whether you know a technology, ask him for specific examples of how this knowledge is used in job you are interviewing for. Again, describe your specific experiences and the new job may be yours. The same applies for the recruiters' tendency to overestimate job experience. Some recruiters mistakenly focus only on length of experience and do not examine its intensity. Then it's up to you to prove that you really have the knowledge they need.
4. Wrong assumptions about the ability to work in a team
At the interviews, everyone is trying to present himself as a communicative enthusiast, but this does not mean that he can work in a team. Try to prove your ability to work in teams using the projects you have worked on. Talk about how you were involved in important decisions as well as the diverse colleagues you met.
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