Twelve Job Interview Mistakes

Here are 12 Job Interview Mistakes from BusinessWeek online.

1) Being Unprepared for Standard Questions. To avoid being caught off guard in a job interview, create a list of obvious questions and brainstorm ways to answer.

2) Sounding Too Rehearsed. The flip side of being unprepared is sounding like a robot. Think of potential question answers in bullet points instead of memorizing information word-for-word.

3) Stalking HR. “There's a fine line between being assertive and expressing interest and being stalking and annoying,” says Kiersten Peterson, manager of human resources for Boston-based Winston Flowers.

4) Applying for the Wrong Position. There's no point in sending a résumé for a position for which you are under- or overqualified.

5) Arriving Too Early. Everyone knows the downside of getting to an interview late, but arriving more than 10 or 15 minutes before the start of a meeting is just as unacceptable.

6) Oversharing. With the popularity of social-networking sites and personal Web pages, it's easier than ever to find personal information about candidates. If a job seeker has a MySpace, Facebook, or Friendster profile, or a personal page, it's best to keep it clean.

7) Asking the Wrong Questions (Or No Questions at All). If an interviewer asks if you have questions-which he inevitably will-rattle off a few smart ones that demonstrate how thoroughly you have prepared for the interview.

8) Bungling the Salary Negotiation Process. Most experts agree that the all-important salary discussion should be brought up by someone from the hiring organization. Throughout the interview process, a candidate should focus on what he can bring to an organization, not what he can get out of it.

9) Failing to Show Enthusiasm. Some candidates are afraid to appear too aggressive or interested in a position. However at the end of an interview an applicant should make sure a recruiter knows how interested he or she is.

10) Exaggerating Work Experience. Though it might seem like a smart idea to talk up work experience, interviewers can often see right through fabrications.

11) Being Rude. Professional etiquette should not be a long-lost art form. Thank-you notes (either e-mail or print), appropriate dress, hand shaking, and courteous behavior should be in the front of applicants' minds.

12) Trashing a Former Employer. A question about your worst day at work or a difficult situation isn't an invitation to bad-mouth a former employer or other company