Four Moves You May Not Implement Will Make You Look Unprofessional in an Interview
At this point, you know that you shouldn’t apply for jobs with an email address that screams “I created this in eighth grade!” So, in terms of your potential employers, you are no longer [email protected]. You also know not to be late for an interview. And you firmly understand the importance of eye contact and a firm handshake.
This post was originally published on the Muse website .
But did you know that there are a few more things that can negatively affect the impression you make with the hiring manager? I spoke with four career coaches to get some out-of-the-box information about the really unprofessional things that can hurt you in your job search . Read on to avoid them like Black Friday.
1. You are desperate – and you show it
Laura Garnett , a career coach and consultant, says nothing makes you look more unprofessional than when “you feel desperate . “ This is because, as the old cliche says, “people can see despair a mile away.” Garnett knows it can be difficult to disguise if you really feel that way, but nonetheless, “you have to make sure that you are confident, know that the opportunity suits your strengths well, and be able to explain why and how much. you are suitable for this role and organization. ” She encourages applicants to “be clear about what your vision for a career is and how this opportunity fits into it.”
She says don’t “be a kind person” by encouraging applicants to “be curious and interested in the organization” rather than just talking about themselves incessantly. No interviewer will be interested in you if you don’t know when to step back.
2. You hide who you really are.
Garnett’s advice is noteworthy, and so is the advice of career strategist Rajiv Nathan , whose unexpected thoughts are worth remembering. He believes that if you hide who you really are in the interview, you are not doing yourself any favors. Nathan explains that he “often advises people to stop separating work life from family life and accept that you are one person at the end of the day. Share who you are as a person, not just share the role that you think the company is trying to play in its game. “
For him, it “includes sharing weird or potentially ‘unprofessional’ things that interest you.” In fact, in order not to look unscrupulous, you need to delve into the so-called unprofessionalism. Nathan went there, telling “interviewers within the first three minutes” that he liked WWE, pro wrestling, and that he was a rapper. This information will set the stage for a much more interesting and memorable conversation than if you were pretending to be one-dimensional.
3. You don’t finish your homework
You’ve probably heard about the importance of researching a company (or homework assignment) before an interview. You want to be able to speak intelligently so that you read the mission statement, Google the founders, and get an overview of their past and present position.
But, warns Adrian J. Hopkins , career coach at Muse, this isn’t homework to be fooled. It is not enough to put forward a couple of “important facts about the company”. If you want to get this job and don’t want to look unprofessional in any shape or form, you have to “go beyond the basic understanding of the company.” Let the interviewer know how you plan to grow with the company and make him think that he cannot “believe” that he was not lucky enough to meet you earlier.
Check Google News for company mentions, paying particular attention to any statements by executives about their strategic direction. If you are familiar with what the leadership group wants, it will be easier for you to justify why they should involve you to help them achieve it. If the organization is smaller and doesn’t appear in the headlines, check out their blog and social media for a fresh and detailed look at what you are reading.
4. You are promoting on social networks.
Haven’t you realized the incredible importance of your social media presence yet? It sounds very obvious, but status oversights are somehow still a problem, which makes this the most unexpected unprofessional behavior at the moment. Career expert and trainer Heidi Duss cannot stress this point enough: “Everyone should be very aware of what they are putting out.” She goes on to explain that “hiring managers and recruiters will search for someone on Google and find his or her presence on the Internet.”
To complete his point of view, Dass shares his own anecdote:
One day, a college student applied for an internship with our finance department. The hiring manager came up to me and noticed that he was checking her Twitter feed and she said terrible things about the university she was graduating from and her professors. Every second word was derogatory. The hiring manager said, “If she says that about her school / teachers, what will she say about our company if something goes wrong?”
The hiring manager expressed his point of view, and apparently so did the candidate.
When it comes to getting your dream job and presenting yourself as a professional and desirable candidate, there is more than just a typo-free resume and a fresh click of a button. Before you pat yourself on the back for remembering to bring additional copies of your application to the interview, make sure you brush up on some of the lesser-known reasons why job seekers feel unprofessional.