Are You Making These Four Interview Mistakes?

You have a job interview in a few hours, and you've come too far to waste a golden opportunity now. Your resume made it to the top of the heap, and the employer talked to you on the phone and loved your elevator pitch. It's time to close the deal with a perfect interview session.

Even though you prepared for a week, studied the company thoroughly, and rehearsed responses to even the most uncommon and nontraditional questions, you may make a few mistakes in your job interview. Instead of dwelling on these blunders, learn the four mistakes you want to avoid and then the ways to recover from them.

1. The Wrong Resume

You sent out 30 resumes in one week, and it was hard to keep track of them. Instead of a resume that focuses on your sales leadership skills, you created one that tells the story of your marketing prowess. You may still land a job interview, but the hiring manager may skip over your resume because you failed to list the necessary qualifications.

This is where organization skills come in handy. Make sure you recognize which resume you send to each employer. If you notice you sent the wrong resume before the interview, contact the employer and send the right one.

2. Appointment Snafu

Perhaps you misheard the time of your interview when HR called you, or you just simply had too much going on that day and forgot which employer called you for a job interview. Completely missing your appointment is, perhaps, one of the worst things you can do, because it shows you have a lack of commitment to the job.

Call the HR department as soon as you realize your mistake and attempt to get another appointment time. Own up to your mistake — companies may find taking responsibility for your actions refreshing, sincere and honest.

3. Late Arrival

Arriving late to your job interview may not be your fault. Slow traffic, a car accident that made an intersection impassable or a late commuter train are all valid excuses for not arriving on time. However, tardiness still makes a bad first impression.

Contact HR as soon as you realize you may arrive late. Do not offer paltry excuses. Again, own up to your tardiness, and the hope the interviewers work with you.

4. Question Stumbles

Anyone can stumble on an interview question or two — even after rehearsing responses dozens of times. Perhaps you talked too much about yourself or your elevator pitch lasted more than a minute.

Interviewers expect candidates to mess up a few times, so don't worry about it too much. Take a deep breath, slow down, and practice a measured response. No one wants to hear you rattle off 10 details about your work ethic in under 30 seconds. Remember to tell the most important details first. You might impress interviewers with your smooth recovery, so don't get flustered by a few tongue-twisting mixups.

These four mistakes don't have to tank your job interview. No single error during your face time has to destroy your chances of landing your dream job. If you learn to put a positive spin on everything, you should do just fine.

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