3 interview mistakes smart people make when they try to wing it

Good advice in article. As a previous interviewer, I'll say if you don't know an answer to a question I ask then tell me. Maybe I didn't ask the question clearly or I might have used a acronym or some jargon with which you weren't familiar. Unless you're advertising yourself as an expert with 20 years of experience in the exact occupation for which I'm interviewing, you won't seriously hurt your interview score by admitting you don't know the answer. In fact, I almost always told interviewees the answer I was expecting if they simply said, "Sorry I just don't know the answer to that question." About half the time they were smart enough to thank me. The really sharp ones would follow up with a related question to get me talking about the company or my experience. Sometimes this is a good move to give you some time to be quiet and compose yourself.

Some other mistakes I have seen while interviewing people for entry level through supervisory positions;

1. Not be dressed properly for the position
2. Not knowing what is in the Job Description and not being able to relate your experiences to it.
3. The article mentioned this but to often someone will go off on a tangent and never actually answer the question.
4. Its okay to be nervous interviewers expect that but please don't let it succumb you to only 1 or 2 word responses.
There is definitely a little bit of art to interviews and you only get better by doing more of them. I get to do some interviews this afternoon so I will post some more later.

Biggest mistake I made when I was interviewing was I was terribly nervous about my first interview in the civilian world for over 8 years. I made a terrible fool of myself. I knew I wasn't going to get the job so I practiced with my wife who specializes in communication.

The next two interviews I did ( one was in the office just across the hall from the one I interviewed before) and I got two job offers. One offer was the job was wanting since I got out, but I had to have an answer for the other one sooner. I called into my dream job, told them the situation, "Hey, I have this other job offer, but I much rather work with you. Can I get a confirmation" ( Paraphrased ) and my now supervisor really liked that move. She said, "You have to first advocate for yourself"

Now I work at a great job, with great coworkers, and an awesome supervisor. Be confident and be your own advocate!