Five Common Job Interview Mistakes

Finding a job is hard work in itself -- interviewing for a job is even more work to guarantee you get the job. You have to make sure you are fully prepared to impress your potential employer; find out the five most common mistakes made by an interviewee.

1. Not Being Prepared - make sure you do your research on the company you are interviewing for. Make sure you know the companies background, locations, history and mission statement. Most of this information can be found on the companies website under 'About Us.'

2. Not Dressing Properly - you not going to wear sandals and shorts to an interview for a professional gig or wear a three-piece suit to get a seasonal job. If you're not sure what to wear, you can visit the business that you are applying for to see what the employees are wearing in general.

3. Answering Your Cell Phone - it is definitely a bad choice to take your cell phone or other technological device in that may distract you from what you are there for -- the interview. You should at least turn your cell phone off during the interview, but best bet would be to leave it in your car.

4. Lack of Communication - make sure your introduce yourself with a firm handshake -- a good 'rule of thumb' is to grip your interviewers hand firmly and make eye contact for no longer than three seconds. This will leave a good impression in the eyes of your interviewer. Make sure to answer all question concisely, no need to ramble and answer with more than one or two words. Just give the best answer you can.

5. Bad Mouth Past Employees - this cannot be stressed enough. If you bad mouth your past employers, the one you are currently interviewing with will wonder what you will say about them. It is best to just state what your job responsibilities were and focus on your quality of work.

There are definitely more mistakes that can be made during a job interview -- the most import thing to remember is to be honest and do your research.