Common Mistakes in an interview after MBA and How to avoid them?

When I watch an Interview, I saw how easy going it is, where the interviewer asks certain questions and the respondent responses very effectively, but when I started attending an interview it didn’t seem great. I was doing mistakes unknowingly. Now let’s see some of the Common Mistakes in an interview after MBA and How to avoid them? Some of the common mistakes were-:

• Lack of Research
• Lack of Time Management
• Lack of Professional Look
• Lack of Eye Contact
• Misuse of Clichés
• Lack of Asking questions
• Specifying False Statements
• Lack of Attention
• Spreading Negativity
• Talking less or Talking more
• Avoiding Follow up

Lack of Research

One of the most common mistakes that a candidate does is he/she doesn’t refer to the role of the position he/she is applying for and the details about the company. When the interviewer asks the question,” What do you know about the company?” Don’t get stump by hearing the question rather we need to say about the company.

How can you avoid it?

Make sure that before attending an interview you should go through the website of the company, check the Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter pages of the company and research maximum about the company. You should be aware of the location, post you applying for, vision and mission of the company, timings, etc. You can even contact your friends, if any, working in the company. You need to make sure you the position and performance of the company if you’re applying for finance post.

Lack of Time Management

Time management is one of the most important factors which comes at the time of an interview. It is a problem when you come too early or late, as it shows a negative impression on us.   Reaching early shows on us that we are tensed, stressed, and high anxiety, where, reaching late the interviewer may have a lack of interest in interviewing us

How can you avoid it?

It is commonly said to arrive at the avenue before at least 20 minutes, so you can complete all the check-in procedures. The candidate should be cautious about the timings when he should leave from home beside he should calculate the time of travelling along with the estimated time of traffic. You can do a trial before the day of the interview, so that you will get an idea of the timings and how much early you should leave from home. If you reach their early, it is always best to go to any restaurant and have some tea so that you will feel warm and fresh. The mode of travelling also depends, so think properly the day before so that you can do well on the day.

Lack of Professional look

Grooming is one of the important parts of an interview. If the interviewer has to take you seriously, then you should be serious with your grooming. Give a professional look so that the first impression can be the best impression. There are some people who come very casually for the interview, always every hirer prefers light, well-cleaned clothes. One more thing apart from being professional is that when you enter into the room they shouldn’t feel disguised. It is just simple that the perfume we use should be a mild one because some people get irritated with the smell.

How to avoid it?

• The first thing is that if you are a man, then you need to check upon your hairstyle, whether it needs to be trimmed or not. If you have to trim then, trim before 4 to 5 days. Don’t go the day before because if the barber by mistakenly moves his razor through your head then it will lose confidence in you. Trimming hair consistently will give you a smart look so that you need not worry about that.

• Then next is to avoid going out the night before an interview because you would look lazy and tired and may not look fresh.

• Get up early so that you can have plenty of time to get ready before heading out and you need not do things in a hurry.

• You should make sure you take an awesome shower, look clean and ironed.

• On the perspective of women, don’t board yourself with makeup as you’re going in for an interview.

Lack of Eye Contact

You must be careful of the movement made by your eyes because it may distract the interviewers and may lose interest in you. Always keep eye contact with them with confidence. Don’t make any facial expression when you hear any unexpected questions, attend it with a smile and speak.

How to avoid?

• You can practice saying yourself in front of your mirror and looking into your eyes, which will help you to maintain eye contact

• You can use eye control techniques for not blinking your eyes every time.

Misuse of Clichés

Clichés may be attractive especially for first-time job seeker. After then, it may be not cool enough to use those statements. They may be like

“I am a leader “

“I am a problem solver”

“I am a critical thinker”

“I am a dedicated person”

These statements may be true but, using these may not attract the interviewer.

How to avoid?

You can describe your experiences along with the statements to make it more effectively, like by saying, I am a leader, and I had led the team of ORIGO International Online Management Game of Marian International Institute of Management. I was the coordinator of ORIGO and I had to bring the guests for the inaugural and closing ceremony and overall guiding the team. There were mainly three committees working events, technical and invitation.

One of the easiest ways to avoid clichés which were provided by the faculties of MIIM were

S- Speak out the situation

T-Tell the task you did

A-Demonstrate on how you made your action of skill

R-Impact of the result

Lack of asking questions

At the end of the interview, the interviewer most probably will ask you whether you have any questions to ask them. Be prepared with some handful of questions before coming for the interviewer and make sure that these questions aren’t answered by their website or social media pages. When the time comes for you to ask your questions, make sure that this information wasn’t covered in the interview. Throughout your interview, you might have to make a mental note of some questions you want to ask them to at the end.

Keep note with these questions

1. Can you elaborate on the day-to-day responsibilities this job entails?
2. What are the characteristics of someone who would succeed in this role?
3. What does the career path for someone in this role look like?
4. What challenges has this company faced in the last few years? What challenges do you anticipate in the coming years?
5. How would you describe the company culture?
6. Do you have any employee resource groups?

Talking less or talking more

Talking more doesn’t mean you will pass for the interview, but talking about oneself continuously or wanting to know more and more may become tiring for the interviewer.

How can you avoid it?

• Keep on practising the answers for the interview questions succinctly.

• Only include relevant information for the question which the interviewer asks and the role you’re interviewing for. Try not to keep talking about your personal life more and keep the conversation professional.

• Give a chance for the interviewer to talk as well and use nonverbal cues such as nodding and eye contact to show them that you’re listening.

Talking less and low enthusiasm during the interview is a killer. If you are not showing you’re your passionate or excited about the job, it may call off in your tone, posture, and body language. It may look like you are disinterested, low attention, no eye contact, or crumbled posture. When the interviewer identifies this spot then he will immediately cross you out mentally

How to avoid?

• It is not necessary that you need to repeat the word “passionate “as much as you can. In whatever you say they should feel the passion you have towards the job.

Some of the tips are

• Go to bed early and wake up early, get updated with the news.

• Use your hands and gestures when explaining yourself. It will make your points come across with passion and energy.

• Make eye contact, smile, and be friendly.

Spreading Negativity

When the interviewer asks on how was your previous boss and to a fresher on how were your mentors, teachers and college. You might have a horrible, demoralized boss or your previous team might have been very unprofessional as they might be a reason for you to quit the job or might get fired. However, these are the details you should never share with your interviewer.

If you badmouth your past employers: The interviewer might think you were the problem instead.

You appear unethical, mean-spirited, and aggressive and they might think you will badmouth your future employers too. So, you will never get a job.

How to avoid?

• You might be asked about your previous managers or company. Remember you are not required to give too many details.

• Keep calm and be classy, even though there might still be some negativity inside in you. Even if your boss was indeed a Satan dressed in pants but give a positive and professional answer.

Avoiding Follow up

After the interview, you might think that your job is over when the interview is done. But not exactly.

If you want to maximize your chances of getting the job then, you need to send a follow-up email.

How to avoid:

Wait for about three hours after the interview and write a thank-you email.

So we hope that we were able to cover the common mistakes in an interview after MBA and how to avoid them?

As said every mistake is a stepping stone, MIIM, Marian International Institute of Management, always gives the opportunity to develop the graduates into professionals by giving lots of opportunities. Everyone makes mistakes in life, but that doesn’t mean they have to pay for them for the rest of their life. Sometimes good people make bad choices, it doesn’t mean they are bad.

Thank you

By Jeffy Jacob