5 cringeworthy cliches to avoid saying in an interview
Job hunting? Steer clear of these cliches in your next interview!
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Job hunting? Steer clear of these cliches in your next interview!
Interviews are high pressure. And itâs not always easy to know what to say. In fact, itâs often pretty darn hard! But donât fall into the trap of regurgitating cliches youâve seen on the internet. Youâll make the interviewer cringe and youâll also be saying the same thing as most other interviewees. So please donât let this form part of your interview preparation. You need to make sure your answers are true and authentic to you. Thatâs whatâs really going to make you stand out in an interview.
So letâs take a look at the most common interview cliches:
When an interviewer asks about your biggest failure, they don’t want a philosophical outlook. They really want to hear about a time where something went wrong, and how you grew from it. So try not to argue the point about failures really being lessons. They are. But the interviewerâs interested in your ability to admit that something went wrong. And what you learned.
When answering âWhatâs your biggest weaknessâ interview question, answer carefully. Cliches like âIâm a perfectionistâ donât go down well. People use this answer when they canât admit their flaws. In the working world, itâs important you can recognise your weaknesses. And thatâs what the interviewerâs looking for.
Describing yourself as a âhard workingâ employee is just about the most cliche thing you could do. It might be true, but itâs what every other candidate is saying too. Instead, show the interviewer how youâre hard working. What have you done in your career that proves youâre a hard worker? Giving examples will be way more effective than branding yourself as âhard workingâ.
Yuck. Yes, interviewers love team players. But again, letâs stop throwing words out there about ourselves. Instead, letâs provide tangible examples that imply youâre a good team player. All youâll need to do is talk about a time when you worked as a team and the interviewer will see youâre a team player.
When you call yourself a âworkaholicâ, youâre usually trying to send the message that youâll work 24/7. But didnât you hear? Work-life balance is cool these days. So the interviewers wonât award you brownie points for this answer. If you want to show them you have a good work ethic, talk about meeting your commitments. Talk about how you plan your workload to meet your deadlines. And give them examples of where youâve had to go beyond your normal duties to complete a task. This will be much more effective than calling yourself a âworkaholicâ.
Interviewers can tell when youâre being authentic, and when youâre not. They hear cliche answers all the time. So if you want to impress, think carefully about your answers to the most common interview questions. Reflect on your experience. Talk about whatâs real and true for you. This will shine through more than any cliche!
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