Go on a job interview, blab endlessly about your soft skills, tell the interviewer how many long hours you can work and emphasize how you can efficiently handle multiple tasks at a time… And Off you go! This is 2020. We are in the era of ‘smart working’ and employers aren’t that daft to fall for such cheap swaggering. To land that dream job, You have to do more than that.

Want to Nail Your Next job interview? Read on!

Don’t take my word for it, I haven’t been to many interviews, neither have I ever sat across the desk as an interviewer. But I have watched many successful interviews and it sums up to one thing; employers just want to know what you are good at, and of course what you aren’t good at. It’s that simple.

For instance When an interviewer asks you ‘what’s your favorite food?’ they don’t want to know if you like macaroni and cheese. They don’t want to know if you eat at all. They are digging for your verbal/communication skills, confidence, self-esteem and a whole lot of other skills and abilities you might not know of.

The interviewer might want to find out how self-aware you are, whether you can examine your preconceived notions or biases or whether you have broad interests. They might want to see if you would boldly state an opinion or waffle or give a situational specific answer. For some highly competitive interviews, simple questions like the one above will determine the next question they are going to ask you, or if they are to proceed with the interview or not.

Here are some of the turnoffs that may be keeping you from landing that dream job.

1. You display a sense of entitlement

It’s never a good idea to show entitlement on paper or in a job interview. If you go in with a list of demands, you’ll be out before it starts. It is expected that you have a general salary expectation, but that you will need six weeks of vacation from the start? That’s not gonna happen.

2. Your LACK OF PASSION shows

When you find yourself applying for jobs that don’t excite you, don’t be surprised when potential employers sense this lack of passion. Employers know that skills can always be taught, but when the zeal to learn isn’t there, it becomes difficult to learn on the job.

3. You have LOW self-confidence

The interviewer can hear this in your voice in the first three seconds. This can easily be deciphered from the way you speak. Experienced HR managers can even sense it from your first “hello”.

4. You’re sloppy/slobby

5. You’ve got nothing to say

Want to nail your next job interview? Here are a few tricks to help you stand out from the rest of the crowd.