Job interviews
Common interview mistakes and how to fix them
Most rejections after a good CV screen come down to a handful of repeatable mistakes. None of them are about talent, and all of them are fixable in an afternoon of spoken practice.
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The ten
- 1Answers over two minutesFix: answer in one sentence, then add detail if asked.
- 2No numbers anywhereFix: put one measurable outcome in each of your core stories.
- 3Talking about the team, never yourselfFix: say "I decided" at least once per story.
- 4Criticising your current employerFix: describe what you are moving towards, not what you are escaping.
- 5"I don't have any questions"Fix: bring three, and ask at least two.
- 6Guessing when you don't knowFix: "I don't know — here's how I'd find out."
- 7Hedging every claimFix: delete "I think maybe" and "kind of" from your rehearsed answers.
- 8No opinion about the workFix: prepare one thing you would change or explore about their product.
- 9Flinching at salaryFix: rehearse a range out loud until you can say it flatly.
- 10Not practising out loudFix: two spoken run-throughs before every round.
The one that surprises people
Being obviously over-rehearsed is a real failure mode, and it is caused by memorising sentences rather than structures. Learn your first sentence and your result; improvise the middle. Interviewers can hear the difference between a prepared person and a recited script.
How to check which ones apply to you
Record a ten-minute mock interview and score yourself against the list above. Most people find two or three, not ten — and fixing the two you actually have is far more valuable than reading about all ten.
Common questions
- What is the biggest interview mistake?
- Long, unstructured answers. They cause interviewers to lose the thread and quietly conclude you cannot explain your own work.
- Is it bad to say I don't know?
- No — saying it and then describing how you would find the answer usually scores better than a confident guess.
Find your two mistakes
Run a mock interview and check the report against this list.
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