Common Interview Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Common Interview Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Most interviews are not lost on skills. They are lost on avoidable slips: arriving late, knowing little about the company, criticizing a former boss, rambling, or having no questions at the end. Every one of these has a fix you can put in place before the call starts. This guide covers the mistakes hiring managers name most often, what to do instead, and how to recover when something goes wrong mid-interview.

TL;DR

• In a 2024 LinkedIn survey, hiring managers ranked lateness, foul language, looking disinterested, phone use and inappropriate dress as the biggest blunders.
• Preparation fixes most of the list: research the role, rehearse answers to standard questions, and plan logistics the day before.
• Never criticize a past employer. Say what you learned and what you are looking for next.
• Structure answers with STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) so they stay specific and short.
• For video interviews, test your setup, look at the camera, and ask for a question to be repeated if you need it.

What hiring managers say goes wrong most often

A 2024 LinkedIn study reported by CNBC asked hiring managers which behaviors they consider major interview mistakes. The results are a useful checklist, because most of them are about basic professionalism rather than talent.

Notice what is missing: nobody on this list failed because of a gap in their resume. These are habits, and habits can be rehearsed.

Mistakes you make before the interview starts

Walking in unprepared

Being unprepared is the mistake behind most of the others. The U.S. Department of Labor’s interview tips recommend researching the position and the organization, reviewing your application so you can pull examples from it, and planning logistics ahead of time.

Morgan Stanley’s list of biggest interview mistakes adds a practical point: prepare answers to the standard questions, such as “Tell me about yourself” and “Why our firm?” These two come up so often that stumbling on them looks like you did not try.

A simple prep routine:

1. Read the job posting and highlight the three skills it mentions most.
2. For each skill, pick one real example from your work, school or volunteering.
3. Write a 60-second answer to “Tell me about yourself” that ends with why this role.
4. Write down your answer to “Why this company?” using something specific you found in your research.
5. Prepare your questions for the interviewer (more on that below).

Getting the logistics wrong

Lateness tops the LinkedIn list at 53%. The Labor Department advises arriving early, being polite to everyone you meet, and bringing copies of your resume. Arriving very early can also be awkward for the person who has to host you, so aim to be in the building or on the call a few minutes ahead rather than a long time before.

Plan the route or the tech the day before. For an in-person interview, check parking or transit times at the same hour as your interview. For video, open the meeting link early and confirm audio and camera work.

Dressing for the wrong room

Inappropriate dress was cited by 46% of hiring managers in the same survey. Deloitte’s recruiting advice, quoted from Monica Nelson of Deloitte Services LP in its common interview mistakes page, is to focus on what you can control, including keeping your resume current and dressing for success. A practical rule: look at the company’s own photos and social pages, then dress one step more formal than what employees wear.

Mistakes during the conversation

Body language that says “I’m not interested”

Non-verbal habits are easy to miss in yourself. The Northern Ireland government’s nidirect guidance lists yawning, slouching, chewing gum and looking at your watch as behaviors that can suggest you are not interested in the job.

Harvard’s Mignone Center for Career Success published eight non-verbal mistakes to avoid:

• Poor handshakes, including “digital” ones
• Slouching
• Lack of eye contact
• Fidgeting
• Crossing your arms
• Overusing gestures
• Checking the time or your phone
• Keeping a blank expression

The same page quotes Adrien Kallel, CEO of Remote People, on consistency: if you say you are excited but look bored, recruiters start to doubt your sincerity. Match your face and posture to your words.

Using your phone

Half of hiring managers in the LinkedIn survey called phone use a major mistake. Silence it, put it out of sight, and do not glance at it. On video calls, close notification-heavy apps so nothing pops up on a shared screen.

Cursing and casual slips

Foreign language is not the issue here: 52% of hiring managers named foul language as a blunder. Even if the interviewer is relaxed, keep your vocabulary professional from the first hello to the goodbye.

What not to say in an interview

Negative comments about former employers

The Department of Labor advises staying positive and avoiding negative comments about past employers. Interviewers hear criticism of a former boss as a preview of how you will talk about them later.

If you left a difficult situation, reframe it around what you want. Instead of “My manager never listened,” try “I learned I do my best work where feedback goes both ways, and that is what drew me to this team.” If you want to practice phrasing sensitive topics calmly, a short written plan helps; you can rehearse tough workplace conversations using a one-page brief before the real interview.

Salary and benefits too early

The Labor Department’s guidance is that salary and benefits questions are best handled primarily with your HR point of contact. Unless the interviewer raises pay first, keep the first conversation on the role and your fit.

Undermining yourself

Phrases like “I’m not very good at this, but…” or “I only have a little experience” do the interviewer’s doubting for you. Describe what you did, what changed because of it, and what you would do next. If you are changing careers, name the transferable skills directly rather than apologizing for the gap.

Rambling or saying too little

Two opposite mistakes cause trouble: talking too long and answering too thinly. A structure fixes both.

The University of Montana’s interviewing guide recommends STAR, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result, to give clear, concise answers with specific examples. Columbia Career Education suggests a variation, SARA: Situation, Action, Result, Application. The extra step ties what you did to what the employer needs, and keeps the answer direct.

A compact STAR example for “Tell me about a time you handled a tight deadline”:

• Situation: Our team had two days to deliver a client report after a data error.
• Task: I was responsible for rebuilding the summary tables.
• Action: I split the work with a colleague, checked the source data first, and posted progress updates every few hours.
• Result: We delivered on time and the client kept the contract.

That is about 30 seconds spoken. If you want more practice, our guides on the STAR method for interviews and how to answer behavioral questions walk through the format with more samples.

If you do not know how to answer, do not waffle. Nidirect suggests taking a few moments to think or asking the interviewer to rephrase the question. A calm pause reads as thoughtful.

Video interview mistakes

Virtual interviews add their own failure points. The Labor Department advises a quiet space free of distractions and a headset if you have one. It also says to ask the interviewer to restate a question if you need clarification.

Harvard’s advice for virtual calls is to keep eye contact by looking at the camera, and to drag the interviewer’s video window so it sits just under your webcam. That small change makes it easier to look “at” them while you listen.

A pre-call checklist:

• Camera at eye level, face lit from the front
• Plain, tidy background
• Headset or microphone tested
• Notifications off, phone silent
• Meeting link opened a few minutes early
• Notes for your questions within view, not a script you read from

For more setup details, see our virtual interview tips.

Nerves, accent and language barriers

Nerves show up in the body. Patricia O’Laughlin, a licensed psychotherapist quoted in the Harvard piece, warns that rapid, labored breathing can signal a lack of confidence and distract you, and suggests meditation or exercise beforehand to manage nerves. Slow your breathing before you log in, and take a breath before you answer.

If English is not your first language, or you have an accent, these habits help:

• Slow down slightly. Clear pacing matters more than perfect vocabulary.
• Ask for a question to be repeated. It is a normal request, and the Labor Department recommends it.
• Prepare short, plain-language versions of your key stories so you are not searching for words under pressure.
• Practice out loud with the same equipment you will use on the day.

Not asking questions, and skipping the follow-up

In the LinkedIn data, 25% of hiring managers saw failing to ask questions about the job or company as a mistake, 21% cited a lack of research, and 16% noted a missing thank-you note. Morgan Stanley says there is no excuse for having no questions; if yours were answered during the conversation, ask for more detail about something you discussed.

Good questions to keep ready:

• What does success look like in the first six months?
• What is the biggest challenge the team is working on right now?
• How would you describe the team’s working style?

Then send a short thank-you note the same day, mentioning one specific thing from the conversation.

How to recover when you make a mistake

Everyone slips. The recovery matters more than the slip.

1. Late? Contact the interviewer as soon as you know, apologize once, and move on without a long excuse.
2. Blanked on a question? Pause, ask them to rephrase, or say you would like a moment to think.
3. Gave a rambling answer? Wrap up with a one-sentence summary: “The short version is that I led the project and we delivered on time.”
4. Said something negative? Add a positive reframe: what you learned and how it shaped what you want next.
5. Forgot a key point? Raise it in your closing remarks or your thank-you note.

Our perspective on interview mistakes

Most advice on interview mistakes is a list of don’ts. We think the real problem is pressure. People know they should not ramble, but in a live conversation, with a stranger judging every word, even strong candidates lose the thread. That is the gap we built Interview Pilot to address.

Our approach is real-time support: speech recognition that follows the conversation and helps you respond to questions in a way tailored to your experience. It is designed for people who know their skills but struggle to convey them quickly, including non-native speakers, because it understands a wide range of accents and over 99 languages.

Preparation and live support work together. Learn the structure, rehearse your stories, and then have help in the moment when it counts. Our community of over 450,000 job seekers is the reason we keep building this way.

Kingsley

Get real-time support for your next interview

If you want help staying clear and confident during live online interviews, Interview Pilot is an AI interview assistant that generates tailored responses as the conversation happens. It works on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, and it uses industry-standard encryption for privacy. You can start with the Free plan at $0 per month, or choose Unlimited at $49.99 per month. See Interview Pilot’s plans for what each includes.

Want to practice first? Try our AI mock interview to rehearse your answers before the real thing.

FAQ

What is the biggest interview mistake?

In the 2024 LinkedIn survey, showing up late was the most cited blunder, named by 53% of hiring managers. Close behind were foul language, looking disinterested and phone use. All four are fully within your control.

What should you not say in an interview?

Avoid negative comments about past employers, which the U.S. Department of Labor advises against. Also hold salary and benefits talk for your HR contact unless the interviewer brings it up, and skip phrases that put yourself down.

How do you stop rambling in an interview?

Use a structure such as STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result. It keeps your answer specific and finite. If you lose your thread, finish with a one-sentence summary of the result.

What if I make a mistake during the interview?

Stay calm and correct it briefly. Ask for a question to be repeated, add a positive reframe to a negative comment, or add a missed point in your closing remarks or thank-you note.

Sources

• The biggest job interview mistakes, according to LinkedIn (CNBC)
• Interview Tips (U.S. Department of Labor)
• Common Interview Mistakes (Deloitte US)
• 10 Biggest Interview Mistakes (Morgan Stanley)
• Common interview mistakes (nidirect)
• Interview Body Language: 8 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make (Harvard)
• Interview Preparation Guide (University of Montana)
• Things to do Before, During, and After Your Interview (Columbia Career Education)

Recommended

• 29 Interview Questions Candidates Get Wrong
• How to Answer “Tell Me About a Time You Made a Mistake”