10 Things to Never Say In an Interview

Job interviews can be nerve-wracking. You have no idea what to expect and imagine all sorts of terrible scenarios. Will the person who interviews you be cold and intimidating, or warm and friendly? Will there be a panel of interviewers all focused just on you? Or will the setting of the interview be welcoming and will it be cold and uninviting? There are so many factors at play, and the world of interviews can be a minefield.

When we are feeling intimidated, we tend to hold back on the amount of personal information we reveal. This is the right thing to do in a job interview. After all, you are meeting your prospective boss or head of HR in a professional setting in which you would like to work.

The problem comes about if your interviewer acts that he is very relaxed and comfortable. It happens when we might be tempted to reveal too much about ourselves. The truth is that in a job interview, less is more.

Read on for ten things to avoid revealing in a job interview

1. Don’t say you have got fired from a job.
2. Don’t bad-mouth your previous boss, even if they were a jerk. No matter how awful they were, talking about it is only going to make you look bad, not your former boss.
3. Keep potential scheduling issues to yourself for the time being. You might be able to sort them out before they become a problem.
4. Don’t say that you are desperate for a job. Doing so can turn off a prospective employer. Some employers could even use it as a reason to make you a less lucrative offer.
5. Do not tell them that you feel unsure about parts of the job. On the one hand, you should avoid being arrogant enough to say that you can do the job in your sleep. But you also don’t want to convey insecurity about the role.
6. Do not tell you clashed with anyone in a previous position. Also, don’t reveal if you got put on probation for conflict with another employee.
7. Don’t tell them that you are pregnant unless you are saying, people, you don’t know well. It’s none of their business.
8. Avoid telling them that the job you’re applying for pays far more than the jobs you’ve had in the past. This information will hurt your chances.
9. Don’t reveal plans to move out of your city in the future.
10. Don’t make your ambitions known. If you know you’re overqualified for the job and want to move up the ranks as soon as possible, don’t say so. Many interviewers find this very off-putting, for some reason.

The Bottom Line

One thing to bear in mind is that interviewers are not the all-powerful beings that we might imagine them to be. The job-seeker also has power. The secret is to keep some of your details to yourself until you’ve landed your dream job.