The No. 1 reason people ‘fail’ job interviews, says ex-Amazon recruiter: ‘It causes a lack of trust’

Morgan Smith@thewordsmithm

Some job interview faux pas are obvious. Showing up late or badmouthing your former employer are almost guaranteed to ruin a first impression. 

But there’s one sneaky interview mistake that can cost you the job: Forgetting to provide specific examples in your answers. 

Holly Lee, a former recruiting leader at Amazon, Meta and Google, says it’s “hands down, the number one reason” people tank a job interview. 

“People are either overconfident and think that their resumes speak for themselves, that they only need to provide a vague, short answer, or don’t take the proper time to reflect on how, exactly, their work is benefitting a company’s bottom line — the who, what, when, where and why of it all,” says Lee, who is now a leadership career coach based in Phoenix.

For example: An interviewer might ask you, “What is the biggest impact you’ve made in your career at this point?” 

“If you answer with a brief line like, ‘I saved my company $1 million on a project’ or ‘I made our onboarding process more efficient’ without providing specific context or details, it’s not clear how, exactly, you did that and who you helped,” Lee explains.

Neglecting to provide specific examples of your strengths, contributions and impact in previous roles can hurt your chance of getting an offer because it signals to a potential employer that you’re not thoughtful or trustworthy, says Lee. 

“There’s no such thing as a perfect candidate, but you have to demonstrate what you’ve done in order to build trust and positively influence the person who’s interviewing you,” she examples. “Giving vague, clipped answers causes a lack of trust, it shows me that someone is unprepared and doesn’t have a deliberate approach to their work.”

Tips for acing your next interview .... Read the full MSNBC article

 

 

The No. 1 job interview phrase that will set you apart from everyone else, says career expert: It’s the ‘most powerful’

Erin McGoff, Contributor

A well-tailored resume with relevant experience will often get you in the door for a job interview. But if you want to land your dream job, you need to convincingly articulate why you are the best person for the role.

As a career coach, I’ve found that there are a number of compelling and powerful phases that hiring professionals love to hear. One of the most powerful ones you can use in a job interview is: “One thing that excites me about this role is ... .” 

Here are 3 reasons why this phrase will set you apart from other candidates:

1. It makes you sound confident

Job interviews are designed with a built-in power imbalance. You want the position, and you have to impress the hiring manager. But when you use this phrase, you subtly convey to the interviewer that you aren’t just in desperate need of a job.

It shows that you are a passionate, curious and capable candidate who is genuinely interested in what the work entails. By flipping the script, you are no longer asking the interviewer to be interested in you. You are telling the interviewer what’s interesting to you about the role.

This subtle power dynamic shift can only help you gain leverage.

Read reasons 2 & 3 plus the full CNBC article