The Top Interview Blunders

The Top Interview Blunders – and How to Avoid Them

1.) Talk about your achievements - not your business theories. Most employers don’t care about your business theories – they care about your achievements. You built something or you improved something, leading to beneficial results. Did you build a new accounting system? Did you improve financial reporting? There is no substitute for achievements. We find a lot of recent MBA’s struggling with this today: employers seek actual achievements and experience more than ever.

2.) Talk about how your job impacted the “big picture”. Don’t dwell on your personal achievements – talk about your team’s impact on the company as a whole. Employers are not seeking Lone Rangers; they want someone who has a passion to work with others. You’ll see this on The Apprentice – Trump mentions the “heart” and how it’s important. You have to seriously enjoy relationships with people. Life – and top finance performance - is often about people, not things. Words are powerful: use “our” and “we” more than “I” and “me” in your interviews.

3.) Show confidence - not arrogance. Confident people have a clear vision of what they can do, and freely admit their limitations. No one wants to work for an arrogant person; employers know this leads to high employee turnover. Arrogant people tend to think they know everything – in today’s quickly changing and highly specialized business culture, knowing everything is impossible. Admit your limitations and show that you are attending courses to continue to learn new concepts.

4.) Don’t put “see resume” on your job application. It suggests laziness, lack of thoroughness or that you are trying to hide something. Fill out the entire job application form.

5.) Know the difference between Leadership and Management. Employers want leaders, not just managers. Be ready to show examples of your leadership. Having the ability to lead and motivate others is often due to your attitude towards people. If people sense you genuinely care about them, they’ll follow you nearly anywhere. We frequently see CEO’s and CFO’s taking entire teams of people with them to new positions.