To a seasoned recruiter, certain statements are instant red flags during a job interview. In fact, these seemingly innocent statements can dramatically decrease your chances of getting the job. Additionally, in this article, we list the top 11 statements that could kill your job interview in an instant. A meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychology found that how candidates present themselves genuinely shapes interviewer ratings, since interviewers lack prior knowledge of a candidate and have little else to go on beyond what is said in the room.

Should I Ever Criticize My Previous Boss In An Interview?

One species hiring managers wish to avoid at all costs is the cancerogenic type: a fickle, demanding consumer seeking comfort at the workplace, and a complainer who blames others for his or her failures. Dissatisfaction is contagious, hence cancerogenic.

Recruiters will take any symptoms that you might be a potential cancer as instant red flags. Therefore, do not let a recruiter provoke you to say anything negative about your past employer — even if, objectively, they were far from perfect.

Smart recruiters will use tricks to prompt you to say something negative. For instance, they’ll ask you to say “three great things and one not-so-positive thing” about your past employer. At first glance, this sounds like a fair deal; at the end of the day, you mostly focus on the positives, right?

Don’t fall into this trap. As a result, any pejorative detail shared with the recruiter may ground your chances of landing the job.

Your task is to keep poker face and stick to positives no matter what. It’s an acting challenge!

2. Why Shouldn’t You Say “I Hate My Job”?

In most behavioral interviews, interviewers will ask you some variant of the question: “Why are you looking for a new job?”

The recruiter will expect you to demonstrate a progressive attitude in which you strive for excellence and look for new venues to further develop your expertise and career.

Many job hunters assume this is a good moment to open up about their current job or career experience and confess how they feel about their current position.

Naturally, you lack something in your current position — otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting at a job interview.

However, admitting bitter feelings about your current position or workplace is a bad idea. However, coming back to the previous point, this is a red flag to the recruiter.

It suggests you might be a cancerogenic type. Thus, this means you are extremely hard to please as an employee.

Just don’t. Working through those feelings privately, perhaps as part of how to build a career development plan, is a far better use of your energy.

Is Saying “I Could Take Any Job” Bad For Interviews?

For many job hunters, this statement sounds like a sign of courage or boldness. Or, willingness to work hard. Alas, for most recruiters, it sounds more like sick desperation.

Recruiters mostly enjoy candidates who display maturity and self-awareness. Moreover, these candidates are conscious and vocal about their strengths and core competencies. They also know where they create the most value in a workplace.

4. Why Is Saying “I Don’t Know” Risky in an Interview?

This is yet another example where brutal, blunt honesty is not the best idea.

Surely, in the process of job hunting, you will sooner or later encounter an obstacle: a technical question that falls beyond your expertise. And when it comes to hard questions, “I don’t know” should not be in your vocabulary.

So, what to do in such a situation?

Well, you have two options. The first option is to mention a similar skill or piece of domain knowledge that you had experience with.

For instance, you can say: “I have not encountered a problem formulated in this specific way to date. However, I took part in a project where we were approaching a similar problem. Let me explain…”

The second option is to argue why you will learn the missing skill or bit of information swiftly.

For instance, you can say: “I haven’t worked with this piece of software just yet.” However, “I understand the underlying theoretical model and I will learn this software in no time.”

Or, “I don’t know the programming language X, but I know the language Y — which has similar mechanics, and it is at a similar level of complexity. I believe I can upskill to meet the company standards in X in a few weeks.”

5. “What Is the Project About?” / “What Does This Team Do?“

Employers often write job offers in an extremely vague way. Not only salary and benefits, but also specific goals and deliverables of the given team are usually hidden from a public job offer.

However, it is not a good idea to draw attention to the fact that you don’t know this team. You might ask instead: “What would my specific role in this team be, and whom would I closely collaborate with?”

In response to such a question, the hiring manager would tell you exactly what the team does and what the upcoming projects are, without the awkward atmosphere.

Should I Say “No Questions” At The End Of Interviews?

At some point during the interview, interviewers will likely ask you to ask questions. In fact, this is not just a throwaway question from the recruiter but rather, it is a viable part of the recruitment process.

You should be prepared and have a few questions to ask at hand, such as, e.g., “What is your favorite aspect of working here?” Similarly, you might ask “How shall I do to become your top employee? What are the first steps to take?”

Such questions indicate your desire to work in this specific team and readiness to kick off your first project as soon as possible. On the contrary, “No, I don’t have any questions” would be a sign of disengagement and passiveness. Preparing thoughtful questions in advance is a small but telling piece of any career development framework for professionals.

7. Why Shouldn’t You Claim You Have No Weaknesses?

Let’s be real; we all have weaknesses. Indeed, it makes no sense to pose as a superhero at an interview; recruiters seek authentic candidates, not avatars.

There are better and worse ways to go about the famous “What is your biggest weakness?” question. For example, the old school suggests naming a personal trait that can be both negative and positive (such as perfectionism).

More modern and preferred school is to talk about the real trait that you’ve just overcome, or you are working on (e.g. “I fear public presentations, but I’m just going through a specialized course on this subject”). Also, it’s way more authentic and welcome to answer in this fashion.

8. Too Much (Unsolicited) Personal Information.

When asked “Tell me about yourself,” you must talk only about your career story. Additionally, do not go too deep into your relationships or health history. Exception: only do this if it is crucial for the story.

Brevity and answering to the point are most welcome here. Staying focused on your career story this way matters even more if you are in the middle of learning how to navigate a career transition. Furthermore, too many unrelated personal anecdotes and digressions will work against you, as it might indicate that you might potentially be an unfocused, chaotic gossip monger.

9. Focusing Too Much on Your Wants and Needs.

When the recruiter asks “Why do you want to work here?” they don’t ask about you; they ask about them. In response, they expect to hear what you find attractive about the company, the project, and the team.

From the recruiter’s perspective, it is off-putting to hear a litany about your personal goals, wants, and wishes, and how this position fits into your life and aspirations.

Of course, it’s good to recognize the personal benefits of working somewhere. However, recruiters treat a self-centered outlook on work and projects as a red flag.

10. Complaints About the Recruitment Process and Job Hunting in General.

When prompted by the recruiter to talk about the job hunting process in general (e.g., by saying “We have a tough market at the moment, huh?” or “This recruitment process takes forever, isn’t it?”), don’t fall into complaints.

Your job is to leave the recruiter with an impression. Also, you want them to see you as a positive person. You must show you are patient, mentally tough, and can see light in the tunnel in every situation.

Everyone wants to have such an employee in their corner! Keeping that kind of composure is easier when it’s grounded in a real career development plan for mid-career professionals rather than improvised on the spot.

So, the best response you can give is something neutral or mildly positive, such as “Yes, we have a recession, but this is when character is forged!”

11. Using Too Much Jargon.

It’s a common problem for fresh graduates and aspiring workers applying for a position higher than their current position. However, while trying to make a good impression, inexperienced workers use complex vocabulary. Consequently, the effect is often grotesque.

As a rule of thumb, it is a better idea to adjust your vocab and the type of jargon (as well as your behavior in general) to the recruiter. Just observe and follow their style of speaking and conversing. If they are formal, stay formal. If they use humor, use humor as well. Et cetera. None of this works, though, without first finding meaning in your career path, since that’s what makes the answers sound genuine rather than rehearsed.

Other Tips on Approaching Job Interviews.

Seeking more advice on how to pass a job interview with flying colors? We can recommend our other articles:

• “The Key To Success at the Job Interview? Show Empathy In the Recruitment Process!”
• “Don’t Blow Job Interviews! Red Flags In Recruiters’ Eyes”
• “The Holy Hustle: How To Turn a Lemon Into a Lemonade and Shine At Job Interviews”
• “7 Magic Spells: How To Enchant the Recruiter at the Job Interview”
• “Should You Mention Your Mental Health Problems in the Job Interview? Job Interview Tips For The Hard Times”

Avoiding the obvious mistakes is only half the battle — our certified career advisors help clients prepare for the parts of an interview that are harder to script.