Posted on 05/22/2011 1:48:29 PM PDT by george76
When interviewing for a job, we all want to put our best foot forward, but sometimes we end up putting it in our mouths instead. Even though you may feel comfortable chatting and making small talk with your interviewer, it’s best to leave some things unsaid.
We checked in with experts to find seven things you should never say during an interview.
1.) Don't Compliment the Interviewer's Appearance in Any Way.
Don’t say: “I love your skirt!”.
2.) Don’t Cry.
Don’t say: “It was the hardest thing I ever went through, and I still break down just thinking about it.”
Crying the first time you meet might lead the interviewer to think you’re unstable.
3.) Don't Talk About Illnesses Unless They’re Relevant.
Don’t say: “My back is killing me, and this time of year is rough on my asthma.”
...
7.) Don’t Say You Were Fired.
Don’t say: “At my last job, I got canned.”
“Even if you were fired you just don’t want to use that word,”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
“sir/mam your secretary has an amazing rack.”
Those pants make you look fat, sir...just sayin’...
Answers: "A bear--because I like to sh#t in the woods."
"A kangaroo-because having a pouch is so versatile."
"A platypus--because it can't decide what it is--and neither can you, apparently."
"A baboon--because having a multicolored rear end is evidently standard equipment here."
My brother, who chose the law when he could have equally chosen stand up comedy, went on several interviews where he was asked things like “Tell me a good joke.” or “Sell me this rubber chicken.” He aced them all.
I was once interviewing a lady who said that her weakness was that old people creeped her out! Then we had the guy who was primarily concerned that the job wouldn’t interfere with his golf playing and would like it if he could have Wednesday’s off to golf. A lady interviewee brought in a box of Krispy Kremes once - she didn’t get the job, although I don’t think the donuts had anything to do with it - I was happy about it! Then there was the lady who was so full of herself - we asked her how her colleagues would describe her and she said “spectacular”. And the poor lady who we asked which databases she had used and after thinking for a while, she said, “Microsoft Outlook”. I don’t even do that many interviews, but we’ve had so many strange ones!!
Don’t answer, “A Gopher?”
I include a few misspellings, and one or two technical mistakes/impossibilities.
I want to see if they're so petty they're willing to point out spelling mistakes to their potential boss, and if they have enough knowledge/courage to challenge the technical mistakes. It's a way to measure their judgment.
All of my current reports responded appropriately. You'd be surprised how many applicants bust my stones over the spelling errors, but don't recognize or ignore the technical errors.
That happened to me the last time I was interviewing, about 9 years ago. I was driving to the interview, well on my way to being there 20 minutes early, when I get a call asking me why I'm late. I explained that I had a 2:00 appointment, not a 1:00, but that I would be there shortly.
Later, when I got home, I checked my email and confirmed that it was scheduled for 2:00. I have no idea if it was an innocent mistake on their part, or some twisted part of the interview process.
In any event, I turned down their offer, though the confusion over the time didn't play into that decision. (It helped that after 3 months of unemployment, I got three offers within a couple of days of each other.)
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