We've talked a lot about what it takes to get hired; but many job candidates, despite their best efforts send signals to employers that say -- DON'T HIRE ME. Let's take a look a few:
Lack Of An Overall Career Goal -- In other words you're just floating waiting for life to happen to you instead of making things happen in your career. Oftentimes an employer may ask an interviewee where they see themselves in 15 years or 20 years. They're asking this question because they want to know what your career goals are. If you say, "I don't know" or fumble through the question that's a sign that you don't have any clear objectives for the future of your
career which is a bad sign. What you're saying to the employer is that you're unfocused and unmotivated and that you're probably a bad long-term investment.
Changing Answers To Interview Questions -- During an interview many employers will ask the same questions several times in different ways. They want to make sure that the job candidate's answers are honest and genuine. Don't offer insincere or "canned" responses to interview questions. Because if you do you may end up giving different answers every time the question is asked again; but different. Doing so tells the employer that you probably can't be trusted. Remain honest throughout the process and you want be snagged by this issue.
Consistently Bad-Mouthing Former Employers -- Okay, we know this is a tricky one. Some employers may have been "not so good" in the past; but that's no reason to bad-mouth them in an interview. Only highlighting the negative aspects of a previous employer tells an interviewer that you will probably one day bad-mouth them. If you had a negative experience with a former employer resist the urge to go negative, try to highlight the positive aspects even while explaining what went wrong.