14 Executives On The Biggest Mistake People Make In Job Interviews (You’re Probably Doing At Least 3 Of These)
"I make it a point to introduce myself very clearly and say my name at least a couple of times. And at the end I ask them if they remember my name. Almost every person forgets. It's not a deal breaker because I understand that they're nervous, but when someone does remember it, I have…
By 
Kim Quindlen
Names have been kept anonymous to protect the employees.
1. “Eye contact. If they don’t make eye contact, it’s a red flag for me.”
2. “I make it a point to introduce myself very clearly and say my name at least a couple of times. And at the end I ask them if they remember my name. Almost every person forgets. It’s not a deal breaker because I understand that they’re nervous, but when someone does remember it, I have to resist hiring them on the spot.”
3. “When I ask someone to list a weakness they have and they say that they ‘work too hard’ it takes every ounce of my self control not to roll my eyes. Get some originality for God’s sake.”
4. “You’d be surprised the amount of times I’ve asked someone what they like about our company or why they want to work for us and they have no idea what to say. DO YOUR RESEARCH. IT’S NOT THAT HARD.”
5. “I’ll ask people about stuff I saw on their LinkedIn, which sometimes throws them off guard or confuses them – basically making it very clear that they lied, thinking no one ever looks too closely at that stuff.”
6. “One of my quickest filters to determine if I like a candidate is whether or not they can pick up on my sarcasm.”
7. “I find it amusing when I ask them to share a fun fact about themselves that has nothing to do with their career and they can’t think of literally anything. Seriously, your life is that empty when you go home? Or you can’t just make something up? When someone freezes on the spot like that, it’s not exactly boding well in their favor.”
8. “I’m not sure why people don’t smile. I get that it’s nerve-wracking, but it’s one of the fastest and easiest ways to connect with another person.”
9. “Wrinkled clothes. Just makes you look sloppy and like you don’t care about this interview. Next.”
10. “When it’s closer to the end, I’ll do a little three-minute spiel about our company’s vision/outlook/working style, etc. And after I finish I like to ask, ‘What are your thoughts on that?’ The good ones will actually come up with a good, normal answer. The not-so-good ones make it very obvious that they were nodding and smiling but totally zoned out and not paying attention to anything I said.”
11. “Just being incapable of explaining the experiences you’ve had and why you’d be a good fit for this company makes me lose interest really quickly. Hiring you reflects on me, so of course I’m only going to pick the best of the best. So why wouldn’t you be spending every last word trying to explain to me all that you’ve done and all that you’ve accomplished and specifically what it is about you that would make you invaluable to us? Instead of just saying your time at your last job was ‘a good experience’ and then barley elaborating?”
12. “Please, please check your teeth before you go into an interview. I cannot tell you how many interviews (often with good candidates) that I’ve been totally turned off by or distracted in because they had a piece of spinach or pepper in their front tooth.”
13. “Saying ‘like’ too many times. Be conscious of that. Along with ‘um’ and ‘uh’ and all those other ones that make you sound less intelligent.”
14. “Not saying ‘thank you’ on the way out. It takes two seconds and it makes me feel like you actually took this seriously and appreciated my time. JUST SAY IT.” 
