Posted on: Sunday, October 28, 2001

Surviving the hard times
Exaggerations, ego can foil job interview

By Jerry Langdon
Gannett News Service

In an economic climate in which uncertainty reigns, interviewing for a job has become a more difficult exercise than it was only a few months ago, according to Management Recruiters International, the world's largest search and recruitment organization.

There are still plenty of jobs to be found, but now there is increased competition for the best of them. How you present yourself to a potential employer can be the difference between landing a job and not.

Top recruiters at MRI say job-seekers should make sure their skills come through but guard against taking credit for too much.

"If you force an interviewer to take some of the things you say with a grain of salt, you force him to take everything you say the same way," said Allen Salikof, president and chief executive of MRI.

"It's highly detrimental to position yourself as the ultimate 'guru' when you're not, no matter how much you think the employer want the guru. If anything you say doesn't ring true, it will hurt you more than help you."

He said the two biggest impediments to passing the interview and landing the job are complaining about former employers and boasting.

Some tips:

• Don't criticize, condemn or complain in your interview, particularly about previous employers. These are the behaviors of sore losers, not forward-thinking professionals.

• Give honest, sincere assessments of your skills and achievements without exaggerating. Interviewers are usually experienced in assessing your manner as well as your skills.

• Give credit to others, particularly people who reported to you, where it is due. Nothing signals to an interviewer that you are a team players and can encourage success in others better than this.

"Fit is an important as skills in today's job market, and an interview is the time to convey both of these crucial aspects of yourself to your prospective employer," Salikof said.