10 Things You Should Avoid Revealing In A Job Interview - Interview Tips

Summary

In this video, Brian from Life After Layoff advises job seekers on what not to reveal during interviews. He warns against sharing too much personal information, discussing the real reasons for leaving a job, disclosing career plans that conflict with the position, showing desperation for employment, indicating age or nearing retirement, revealing major medical issues, discussing political beliefs, and sharing previous salary details. The goal is to avoid biases and increase the chances of a successful interview.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ Avoid revealing too many personal facts during an interview to prevent oversharing and maintain professionalism.
• 🤔 Be cautious about sharing the real reason for leaving your current job to avoid negative perceptions.
• 🚫 Do not disclose your exact career plans if they conflict with the job you're applying for to prevent appearing uncommitted.
• 🏃‍♂️ Do not convey desperation for a job, as it can be off-putting to potential employers.
• 📅 Be mindful of revealing your age or implying how many years you plan to work, as it can lead to age discrimination.
• 🤐 Keep your major medical issues private unless they directly affect your ability to perform the job duties.
• 🙅‍♂️ Refrain from discussing political beliefs during interviews to prevent potential bias from arising.
• 💰 Do not reveal your previous salary to maintain negotiation power and avoid salary undervaluation.
• 📝 Practice answering interview questions to appear more articulate and concise, which reflects well on your professional communication skills.
• 🔗 Tailor your responses to align with the job description and demonstrate how your skills match the role's requirements.

Q & A

What is the main focus of Brian's video?

The main focus of Brian's video is to advise job seekers on what personal and professional information they should avoid revealing during job interviews to increase their chances of success.

Why should interviewees avoid sharing too many personal facts?

Interviewees should avoid sharing too many personal facts because it can indicate nervousness or a lack of emotional intelligence, which may lead employers to question their ability to communicate effectively in a business setting.

What could be a potential bias that arises from sharing personal hobbies or interests during an interview?

Sharing personal hobbies or interests could lead to biases if the interviewer does not share the same interests or dislikes them, which could negatively impact the candidate's chances of being hired.

Why should job seekers be cautious about revealing the real reason they are leaving their current job?

Job seekers should be cautious because revealing negative reasons for leaving, such as disliking a boss or being treated poorly, might make them appear difficult to work with or unsatisfied in their role.

What is the advice given for discussing career plans during an interview?

The advice is to frame career plans in a way that shows commitment to the current career path and potential for growth within the role, without revealing intentions to start a business or switch careers in the near future.

How can desperation in finding a job affect an interviewee's chances?

Desperation can make an interviewee appear overly eager, which might push the desired outcome further away, as employers tend to avoid candidates who seem desperate for a job.

Why is it important to be careful about revealing one's age during the job application process?

Revealing one's age can lead to age discrimination, as employers might have biases against hiring someone who is either too young or too close to retirement age.

What is the recommended approach to discussing medical issues during a job interview?

It is recommended to only discuss medical issues that would affect the ability to perform the job's basic requirements. Otherwise, such personal health information should be kept private to prevent potential biases.

Why should interviewees avoid discussing their political beliefs during an interview?

Discussing political beliefs can introduce biases and opinions that may not align with the interviewer's or company's views, which could negatively impact the hiring decision.

What is the suggested strategy for handling questions about previous salary during an interview?

The suggested strategy is to avoid revealing previous salary figures to prevent being locked into a lower salary offer. Instead, research market rates for the role and base salary expectations on that information.

What resources does Brian offer for job seekers who need more help with their job search?

Brian offers a website called lifeafterlayoff.com with various resources, including training courses such as resume writing, job seeker boot camps, and LinkedIn training, as well as a new 48-hour interview crash course.

Outlines

00:00

🚫 Avoid Oversharing in Job Interviews

In this paragraph, Brian from Life After Layoff advises job seekers on common mistakes to avoid during interviews. He emphasizes not revealing too many personal facts, as it could indicate nervousness or a lack of emotional intelligence, both of which are undesirable traits. He also warns against being long-winded, as it may suggest an inability to communicate effectively in a business setting. Additionally, he cautions against sharing hobbies or interests that could be used to form biases, either positively or negatively, and advises keeping the conversation strictly job-related.

05:01

🙅‍♂️ Don't Disclose Negative Reasons for Leaving Your Job

Brian advises against revealing the true negative reasons for leaving a current job during an interview. He suggests that candidates should be careful about how they frame their reasons for leaving, as employers may judge them based on this information. For instance, if a candidate says they left because their boss was terrible, it might imply that they are difficult to work with. He also mentions that candidates should be wary of oversharing their career plans, as this could signal a lack of commitment to the role they are interviewing for. Instead, candidates should focus on showing passion for the job at hand.

10:02

🤐 Keep Your Desperation and Age Hidden

In this section, Brian discusses the importance of not appearing desperate during a job interview. He explains that showing a sense of urgency to get a job can be off-putting to employers. He also touches on the sensitive topic of age discrimination, advising candidates to be careful about revealing their age, either directly or indirectly through outdated technologies or an old email address. Furthermore, he warns against indicating how many years one plans to work before retirement, as this information could influence an employer's decision-making process.

🏥 Do Not Discuss Major Medical Issues

Brian advises job candidates not to disclose major medical issues during an interview unless they would prevent them from fulfilling the job requirements. He explains that while employers have a right to know if a candidate can meet the basic requirements of the job, they should not be influenced by unrelated medical conditions. He also mentions that candidates should not disclose pregnancy or disabilities unless they require reasonable accommodation, as this information could inadvertently lead to bias.

🤐 Avoid Discussing Political Beliefs

Brian cautions against discussing one's political beliefs during a job interview. He notes that the political spectrum is wide and opinionated, and sharing such views could lead to bias from the interviewer. It's best to avoid this topic altogether to prevent any potential negative impact on the hiring process.

💰 Don't Reveal Your Previous Salary

In the final paragraph, Brian warns against revealing one's previous salary during the interview process. He explains that disclosing this information can anchor the employer's salary offer at that level, which might be lower than what the candidate deserves based on market value. He suggests that candidates should determine their worth based on their skills, experiences, and the market rate, rather than being locked into a salary based on past earnings.

Keywords

💡interview

An interview is a formal meeting in which one person assesses the qualifications of another, often to determine their suitability for employment. In the video, interviews are the central theme, with the speaker providing advice on how to avoid common mistakes during job interviews.

💡personal facts

Personal facts refer to details about an individual's life that are not necessarily relevant to their professional qualifications. The video advises against revealing too many personal facts during an interview, as it might come across as oversharing or a lack of emotional intelligence.

💡overly nervous

Being overly nervous can lead to poor interview performance, such as oversharing or long-winded responses. The video suggests that interviewers might interpret nervousness as a lack of confidence or emotional control, which could negatively impact the candidate's chances.

💡long-winded

Long-winded describes a style of speaking or writing that is excessively lengthy and verbose. The video warns that being long-winded during an interview can be a red flag, as it may indicate an inability to communicate effectively in a business setting.

💡emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage both one's own emotions and those of others. The video implies that a lack of emotional intelligence could lead to oversharing personal information, which is undesirable in a professional interview.

💡desperate

Desperate refers to a state of extreme need or urgency. The video advises against conveying desperation during an interview, as it might signal to the employer that the candidate is not selective or committed to the role.

💡age discrimination

Age discrimination involves treating individuals differently based on their age. The video cautions against inadvertently revealing age through resume details or email addresses, as it could lead to discrimination.

💡reasonable accommodation

Reasonable accommodation refers to the adjustments made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform job duties. The video suggests that while it's important to request accommodations if needed, revealing a disability during an interview could lead to bias.

💡political beliefs

Political beliefs are an individual's opinions and values regarding governance and societal issues. The video advises keeping political beliefs private during interviews to avoid potential bias from the interviewer.

💡salary expectations

Salary expectations are the amount of money an individual anticipates earning for a job. The video warns against revealing previous salary information, as it might anchor the employer's offer at a lower rate than what the market or role may demand.

💡career plans

Career plans are an individual's strategic approach to professional development and advancement. The video suggests that revealing short-term career plans, such as switching jobs or starting a business, could be perceived as a lack of commitment to the current role.

Highlights

Avoid revealing too many personal facts during interviews as it may indicate nervousness or lack of emotional intelligence.

Keep interview answers concise, ideally two to three minutes, to show the ability to articulate thoughts clearly.

Be cautious about sharing personal hobbies or interests that could be used as a basis for bias.

When discussing reasons for leaving a current employer, avoid negative comments that might reflect poorly on you.

Consider how you frame your career plans to show commitment to the role and potential for growth within the company.

Avoid indicating desperation in your job search as it may push employers away.

Be mindful of age-related information that could lead to discrimination.

Do not disclose your age or indicate how many years you plan to work, as it may create a bias against you.

Major medical issues should be disclosed only if they affect your ability to perform the job's basic requirements.

Avoid discussing your political beliefs as they may not align with the company's or interviewer's views.

Do not reveal your previous salary during the interview process to avoid locking yourself into a lower salary range.

The presenter offers a 48-hour interview crash course for those looking to improve their interview skills.

Private one-on-one coaching sessions are available for personalized job search assistance.

The importance of conveying passion for the work you're interviewing for is emphasized.

How to handle questions about disabilities in interviews is discussed, suggesting to focus on job requirements.

The presenter shares personal experiences from recruiting to provide practical advice.

The average tenure of a worker in today's job market is noted as approximately three years.

Transcripts

you landed a big interview

congratulations but now we need to hit

it out of the park and as you head into

the interview process I don't want you

to make these common interview mistakes

so in this video I'm going to share with

you some things that you might not want

to reveal in your interview

[Music]

hi everybody it's Brian from Life After

layoff today I want to talk to you a

little bit more about interviewing

specifically what you shouldn't reveal

if you're talking to a recruiter or a

hiring manager but before we get too far

into it if you're interested in more

career related content just like this

directly from a corporate recruiter make

sure you hit that subscribe button you

might also want to hit that notification

Bell so you don't miss any future

content obviously with my background in

recruiting I've interviewed a lot of

people and I've had some pretty

interesting interactions over the years

there's some common things that I've

heard job interviewers reveal in

interviews that's probably not in their

best interest so I decided to put

together this list of things that you

shouldn't reveal to your interviewer

even though they might seem relatively

innocent at the surface because after

all interviewing can feel a bit like

navigating a Minefield one wrong step

can end you up in the no pile and we

certainly want to avoid that so I'm

going to give you a list of things that

you should avoid revealing and hopefully

you're not making too many of these

mistakes right now first thing that you

should avoid revealing is too many

personal facts about yourself this is

often a symptom of somebody who is

overly nervous in their interviews or

somebody who's just flat out long-winded

and neither one of those are really good

traits to have if you're going to try to

impress the interview team to convince

them that you're the right fit for the

job and if you've ever dealt

professionally with somebody who's a

long-winded person you know how

difficult that can be to deal with the

issue isn't so much of their unfriendly

but they either overshare or they lack

emotional intelligence and the reason

why this one's an issue is because

employers will link your ability to

articulate yourself to how you would

perform in a business setting or in a

business meeting so if you're somebody

that is in sales for example and you're

sitting in front of a client and you're

going on and on and on and you see a

glazed look in their face you're

probably not going to seal the deal so

they'll absolutely use that as an

indicator that you can convey your

thoughts and your messages in a clear

and concise way so if you're somebody

that tends to be a little long-winded

hopefully somebody's been nice enough to

you in your career to pull you aside and

say hey you need to wrap it up a little

quicker but generally speaking two to

three minutes in your interview answers

and that's all conversely if you're over

sharing because you're nervous it sounds

like you need to practice a little bit

more another possible danger and could

be a benefit too I guess of over sharing

too much personal information is the

person who is receiving that information

is going to potentially use that as a

bias for or against you so if you shared

some hobby that you were really

interested in but the person who you're

sharing it with didn't appreciate the

hobby you might end up losing them or

worse they might actually start judging

you for it but there's also the chance

that you could share something that

they're really interested in and you can

have an icebreaker of some sort but in

general I would avoid sharing anything

that's particularly personal just keep

it strictly related to the job at hand

the next thing I would avoid revealing

in your job interview is the real reason

why you're leaving your current employer

before you jump to conclusions I'm not

suggesting that you should lie about why

you're leaving but you might not want to

share the entire truth especially if

you're trying to escape a very boring

employer or you had a boss that you

didn't like or the company treated you

poorly or whatever reason you might have

well think long and hard about how you

want to message and package that up

because inevitably an employer is

probably going to judge based on that so

if you come in and say my boss was

terrible I didn't like working for them

there was nothing good about them we

butted heads and I needed to get out

an employer might hear you're difficult

to work with you potentially could be a

problem for us as well too much of a red

flag and we're going to avoid it

similarly if you're feeling very bored

and you share that the job didn't

challenge you very much employer might

say we're a little disappointed by that

because if you were truly a go-getter he

would go out and find more interesting

work to do to enrich the job that you

had and as a recruiter who's hired

thousands of people and had lots of

hiring managers give me feedback that is

some of the stuff that I have actually

heard so my advice to you on this one is

to figure out why it is that you're

really truly leaving and figure out a

way to articulate that in a way that

doesn't come across as threatening to an

employer and taking a step further I've

had people overshare their career plans

with me and actually comes back to

really bite them because inevitably

you're probably going to be asked what

is your career plans maybe where do you

see yourself in five years some

variation of that type of question and

what we're looking for is do you have

commitment to this type of career path

is it something that interests you long

term do you have the ability to grow in

this role potentially get promoted et

cetera we kind of want to know what we

have with the candidate and when you

come in and you say well my Five-Year

Plan is to start a business or if you

say I'm switching careers after five

years I'm going to be somewhere

completely different it's generally not

going to be looked at very positively at

all in fact that could be a deal breaker

for a lot of employers because when

you're interviewing for a certain job

type and you're saying you want to start

a business that's completely unrelated

basically what that's telling the

employer is you're not passionate about

the type of work that you're

interviewing for the name of the game is

we have to show or convey a level of

passion for what we're doing if you want

an employer or in particular a hiring

manager to feel good about your

candidacy so if you do have plans to

start a business or make a career shift

on some level I would certainly

encourage you to do so but just make

sure you have an idea of how you want to

message that in your interviews itself

I'd also avoid revealing the fact that

you're interviewing because you're

desperate this may be because you got

laid off or fired or whatever the reason

might be but you have a sense of urgency

to get back into the workplace as

quickly as you can to start collecting a

paycheck because inevitably what an

employer is going to hear is that you're

desperate and it's kind of like the

dating world where if somebody has a

high sense of urgency for a particular

outcome they usually end up pushing that

outcome further away from them because

nobody wants to be somebody's desperate

play or something like that and I can

understand it can be difficult if you're

somebody that's in a situation like that

where you're going to lose your house

your your lights are being shut off and

you need to get a paycheck somehow you

need to reach down deep and convey that

you're calm and collected and that

you're a cool Customer because you don't

want to be put into the no bucket

because you're overly eager and sharing

that you're desperate for work the next

thing we don't want to share and this

could be inadvertent through a resume

that's not carefully written as well is

your age this could be both sides if

you're too young too old both of those

have been subject to age discrimination

and unfortunately it does happen I made

another video on ageism if you're

interested I'll try to leave a link

somewhere or you can type in my channel

just search for ageism and you should be

able to find it pretty easily and be

careful with certain Technologies or

even your email address could indicate

how old you are I actually had a resume

once this is a few years ago now but

even at the time it was still pretty

shocking that actually put a fax number

on their their resume and it was like

who even has that so that clearly

indicated to me that the person was a

little

out of place in the job market and it

was a little bit more difficult for them

so my recommendation would be to mind

your email addresses mine the dates that

are on your resume and certainly don't

offer how old you are when you sit down

for the interview taking that one a step

further we also don't want to indicate

how many years we have left in the

workforce and this one is really common

especially with folks who are in the

last five to seven years of their career

they'll tell me things like I just want

to land this last job the last stop of

my career put in 10 good years and right

off into the sunset and then what that

becomes to me is okay now you're 55 and

I don't even want to think of that stuff

when I'm interviewing somebody because

now if I think about it it becomes a

liability and I shouldn't know any of

that stuff about you as a recruiter as

you get into the hiring manager phase

you certainly don't want to talk about

that because if the hiring manager has a

plan for this role to grow and I have my

own opinion on this whole thing of

hiring people for growth opportunities

considering the average tenure of a

worker in today's job market is like

three years or something so they

shouldn't be making decisions based on

somebody's long-term plans but

nonetheless they they do you don't want

to Clue Into the hiring manager that you

only have plans to work for three to

five years when in the hiring manager's

mind they want to find somebody that's

going to have 10 plus because inevitably

it's going to create a bias against you

and it's not going to be easy to prove

it but one day you're going to get a

rejection letter and you're going to

wonder what happened the next major

thing that I would avoid revealing in an

interview is that you have major medical

issues of course if you have major

medical issues that would prohibit you

from meeting the basic requirements of

the position the employer is gonna have

the right to know that you won't be able

to do the job but they should be asking

you in the application process are you

able to meet the requirements of this

position as set forth in the job

description and you should be answering

truthfully

and at the recruiter stage they may ask

you that question as well and at that

point you should be truthful if you're

asked the question came up that they're

somebody who's pregnant and was

interviewing through the position and

the employer the hiring manager said I

don't want to hire this person because

they're pregnant and they're going to be

needing all this time off and there's

actually laws against that you can't not

hire a person because they're pregnant

and they don't even have to disclose it

same thing goes for Disabilities if

you're somebody that has a disability

that wouldn't interfere with your

ability to perform the job I would

certainly not recommend that you even

bring it up as an issue because again if

we require a reasonable accommodation we

should be indicating that in the

application and if we're asked by the

recruiter but say for example if you're

somebody that's high functioning

autistic and you want the employer or

the hiring manager to know that dynamic

because it might impact your ability to

do the job or you want a reasonable

accommodation at the time of offers when

you would bring that up I would not

bring it up during the actual interview

because you don't want them to have a

bias that they form against you

inadvertently because after what we went

hired for our ability to perform the job

based on the requirements of the

position based on the job description

and that's why job descriptions are

written so carefully is because they try

to check all those boxes because that's

the litmus test does the person match up

to the job description close enough to

be able to perform the job with or

without reasonable accommodation so just

keep that in mind the next major faux

pas and one I definitely wouldn't reveal

is your political belief system as much

as it may be tempting and is aligned as

you think you are to a company's Mission

or potentially a hiring manager's

viewpoints

be very careful what you share here

because obviously the political spectrum

is very wide it's very heated very

opinionated and it's better just to stay

completely out of it because you never

know what the belief system is of the

hiring manager you're interviewing for

even if they work for a company that

might align with your core values and

the final thing I want to cover in

today's video and this is one that

happens very commonly and I certainly

wouldn't recommend that you do it is to

reveal your previous salary because when

the salary question does come up and

it'll usually come up during the

recruiter phone screen if you disclose

what your previous salary is then you're

locking yourself into that it's a high

salary and you've properly valued

yourself in your career it might be

advantageous for you but in most cases

you're probably going to walk yourself

into a lower salary than you probably

should especially if you're somebody

that was way underpaid based on the rest

of the market it's really annoying to

even have to say this but it happens

enough that I do have to say it

you don't want an employer to determine

your value you as the employee need to

be determining your worth based on what

you know the open market suggests for

your particular set of skills

experiences knowledge and abilities if

you need more guidance on how to answer

the salary question check out my video

on salary expectations it'll give you a

lot more information about how you

should approach that question so this

list came from a lot of years of

interviewing hopefully find some value

in it hopefully there's a few in there

that you were questioning I know I've

gotten a lot of questions about

disabilities in particular in my

comments but I wanted to clarify some of

those for you and give you a little bit

more insight on how to approach them

these more delicate situations but

hopefully this was helpful for you and

if you're somebody that needs a little

bit more help with your job search that

is actually something that I specialize

in I have a website called

lifeafterlayoff.com it's loaded with

tips and tricks all from an Insider's

perspective and I do share my deepest

and most intimate knowledge in the form

of some training courses I've talked

about resume and Rockefeller before I've

talked about the ultimate job Seeker

boot camp before and I've talked about

the unlocking LinkedIn courses which are

all really great and they will help

supercharge your career and I'm thrilled

to announce that I just launched a new

course as I create this video that's

called the 48 hour interview crash

course and it's designed as a perfect

companion for the ultimate job Seeker

boot camp it's designed for the person

who has an interview coming up and you

just want really targeted information on

how to navigate through a major

corporation's interview processes how to

prepare for and how to make sure that

you're delivering the right answers that

are going to give you the best chance of

moving to the next round of the

interview so I'll leave a link for it in

my bio you can check it out it's on my

website as well really excited about the

course I think you'll find a lot of

value if you're somebody that gets

nervous wants to just have your best

foot forward for that big interview

that's coming up so check that one out

if you're somebody that needs a little

bit more personalized help I do offer

some limited private one-on-one coaching

sessions you can reach me through my

website to schedule those as well

there's all the information that you'll

need hey happy job hunting hopefully

this list is a little bit helpful for

you as you navigate through these

uncertain Waters of major corporations

hiring processes like always I'm here to

help see you on the next one