After coaching hundreds of professionals over the years it has been enlightening to see and understand the various reasons people don’t get hired.

Here are a few mistakes you can easily avoid with a little practice:

Mistake #1: Too Arrogant
There is a fine line between the confidence you absolutely need to have and being overly confident in a job interview. If you catch yourself saying any of the following statements you might be you might be skating that line:

• I am in no rush
• I need XXX of money
• I am being interviewed by ___ other companies

State your achievements but stay grounded, respectful and diplomatic to ensure the best outcome. Definitely make certain your potential employer knows you are enthusiastic about the position!

Mistake #2: Too Laid Back
I am a big believer that things end where they begin and most employers would agree that first impressions are paramount. Failing to promptly return calls and send thank you notes are easy errors to make that have disastrous implications.

Mistake #3: Still Grieving
A tumultuous split, being fired or laid off are all difficult situations that usually take a grieving process to get over. Denying yourself the time it takes to heal and move on can result in you being “less than your best” in your interviews. Sometimes you might not even notice it … but unfortunately your interviewers will. Take a little time, have some kind of “moving on” ceremony (this helps tremendously) so when it comes time to talk about your past employment you can do so without raising any red flags.

Mistake #4: Too Money Driven
When you put the focus on the salary you will command too early in the interview, or before you are asked about money, then you are asking for money, not value to be the deciding factor in hiring you. Keep the focus on the value you bring to your potential employer and the money almost always takes care of itself.

Mistake #5: Too Vague
The best way for you to pique the interest of potential employers from the start is to take a strong sales/consultants role. Meaning specifically, you must continue to peel back the onion of their needs…and then speak to those needs. Those needs are their key reasons for wanting to hire you, so show them you understand what their challenges are and demonstrate you have the solutions. Failing to zero in on your potential employers needs can defiantly cost you the job.

By understanding how we are perceived in interview situations it’s much easier to circumvent potential roadblocks to your career success and job of your dreams.

What is the one question you KNOW you will get asked at the beginning of each and every first interview?

“So, tell me a little bit about yourself…..”

My clients continually share with me that although it seems like this should be an easy question to answer, they struggle with exactly what to say!

The really good news is that I am going to give you a short script to answer this question and you will only have to fill it out once! It will work for multiple interviews. This is a simple way to break down what to say each time you are asked to share a little about yourself.

You will want to keep your response to something you can say in under a minute. This ensures you don’t lose your listener.

Your template begins with a statement such as:

“Well, as you can see from my resume, I have ….”

What you state from there should first include any relevant academic information, years in the industry or position, and short highlights of the key positions you have held. It may sound something like this:

“Well, as you can see from my resume, I have 15 years’ experience in the construction industry. After graduating from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in construction management, I was hired by Turner Construction to work as a project manager in their hospitality division. That’s where I got my feet wet in project management. I quickly developed a reputation for bringing projects in on time and under budget.”

“Then I was recruited by company X…”

Continue with this theme through to your current position. Invest the most time talking about your previous positions that are most relevant to the position for which you are interviewing.. In most cases, this will be the position(s) you have held in the last 5 to 7 years.

Your template ends with the statement:

“…I am really excited to be here and to learn more about the qualities you are looking for in a top candidate. Would it be okay to talk about that now?”

Your interviewer(s) will love your positive attitude and you will get to learn more about the position – right from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Jot down the key points they share with you because these are your talking points for the rest of the interview!

Don’t forget to practice your template several times out loud until you feel comfortable. This will reinforce your confidence, too.

By using this simple technique, you will calmly and confidently answer this question – and impress your interviewer in the process.