You sent your resume.  Your IT job interview is scheduled.  You have made it this far, and are confident, but you are now starting to get a bit nervous.  If you can avoid making these common mistakes, your IT job interview will go as planned.  Our Technology Recruiters have been involved in hundreds, some even thousands of IT job interviews.  Some went great, some not so great.  An employer can be extremely picky when choosing the perfect candidate.

IT hiring managers still believe that they can afford to be picky as they seek out the highest caliber talent even though the talent pool is very tight. Keep in mind that they are trying to do the best by their company in every hire.  They are looking for a reason to eliminate candidates that are not a perfect match.  The moves you make and the words you choose during and in preparing for an IT job interview will be judged.  They are trying to get to know you as a person and probably as a potential employee.  Show them that you are the perfect person for the IT job.  Do not make these easily avoidable mistakes.

Using Your Phone:  As tempting as it is to take a quick glance at your phone, do not do it!  Not even to check the time.  Pay close attention.  Focus your thoughts on the conversation at hand.

Not Telling The Truth:  According to our well-seasoned technology recruiter in Massachusetts, Rob, “The difference between embellishing and lying is a fine line. Don’t lie on your resume, or embellish to the point of a lie”.  You will put yourself into a corner when asked about the embellishment.  Or worse, the hiring manager may know an old coworker of yours and finds out about the lie first hand.

Not Paying Attention:  Melissa, one of our top technology recruiters in New Hampshire, advises to “pay attention and keep eye contact”.  Show them that you are interested.  Also, do not let your mind wonder.  She also advises “answer only the specific questions that are asked about the information on your resume”.  Do not go on a tangent.  Do not ramble.  Stay on track and answer the direct question.

Not Listening:  Do not listen to respond, listen to understand, then respond.  Take your time to think about your answer.  Talk at a reasonable pace.  Do not speak too fast.

Questions:  Have questions lined up ready to ask at the end of the interview.  It will show that you have done your homework. For example, how large is the technology team? If you hired me today, what would you define as success, from my employment, 6 months from now? What’s the most important thing I should know about working here to be successful? Avoid questions about time off, hours of work, pay schedule. All of those questions can be answered deeper in the hiring process and are not going to show your interest in working there.

Want to learn more about preparing for an IT job interview?  Also, are you following The Autumn Group on social media?  Furthermore, in addition to our blog articles, we post content across multiple platforms such as:  LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Follow us to keep up-to-date on technology, industry news, hot IT jobs in New England, and what’s happening in our local tech community.  Connect with us today!  We would love to connect with you online!