When you go in for a job interview, it’s imperative that you make a stellar first (and lasting) impression.
But you can’t rely solely on your impressive answers to get the job. You need to behave professionally, too.
As it turns out, there are tons of small mistakes you can make that could end up costing you the job.
To help you figure out what you should and shouldn’t do during the job interview, we looked at responses to the question, “Employers of Reddit, what is a prejudice you hold against the people you interview?” which was recently posted on Reddit by okmann98.
Here’s what respondents came up with:
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1. Guilt tripping the employer into giving you a job
“Telling me about how badly you need this job because of all the problems you have will get your application thrown in the trash,” says Reddit user pinkiepieisbestpony, because candidates who have a lot of “baggage” usually turn out to be problem employees.
Fellow commenter WhizmoAlke agrees and says they had someone actually cry during an interview. While it made them feel awkward, they say they were no more inclined to give them the job.
SoundBearier put it more bluntly: “This is a business, not the Red Cross.”
2. Graduating late with no work experience on your résumé
Reddit user creaoiumm — a lawyer — says they are tired of seeing applications from law-school students who are over 26 years old and have no job experience (not even babysitting!).
Instead, he says their résumés tend to be filled with different hobbies or trips they took during the summer. “As someone who started working at age 16, I’ll admit I think less of someone in their late 20s who has never held any kind of job, however small.”
3. Having your parents inquire about jobs on your behalf
ScarinasVault — a middleman between candidates and HR — says they’ve seen a marked increase in the number of parents asking for jobs on behalf of their kids or even asking for help with their child’s résumé.
While these actions may come from a good place, the commenter says, “if you can’t bother to show up to ask then we can’t be bothered to take you seriously.”
