By Khalilah Starks

It’s all about attitude – a positive attitude, that is.  Your task in the interview is to prove that you’re the best qualified candidate for the job while showing that you possess a great attitude that will complement the organization.  That means keeping your comments extremely positive and avoiding topics that can be perceived as negative.

The interview should be light and easy breezy.  The glass should always be half full.  Even if something that you’re asked to discuss is negative, you should put a positive spin on it.

So, if you’ve been doing any of these things, stop immediately.

Complain About Everything

The lack of parking, traffic on the way to the interview, the weather – it all sucked.  And, you let the recruiter know all about it.  Perhaps your method of small talk is to discuss all of the annoying things that happen.  News flash:  They could care less.  The interview is all about leaving a lasting, positive impression.  No one wants to hire a chronic complainer.  So make sure that you keep it positive and leave the complaints for your friends and family members who have no bearing on whether you’re hired.  When you walk into the interview room life is wonderful and the world is just peachy!

Share Too Much Information (TMI )

Child care issues, an imminent divorce, health issues – life is really hard for you.  And, you saw no problem with letting the recruiter know this.  Another news flash: Not only do they not care about your issues, but they’ll use this information against you.  Sharing your issues raises all kinds of red flags.  Will you use those same excuses to take off an excessive amount of days?  Will these issues affect your work performance?  These are the questions that will come to mind as you go on and on about your issues, likely sending you to the rejection pile.

Trashing Your Boss

There are a lot of terrible bosses out there.  Recruiters know this.  And, quite frankly, your boss is probably the reason why you’re anxiously pursuing this opportunity.  Recruiters know this as well. But the interview is no place to discuss your employment or boss woes.  Nothing good can come from trashing your boss.  Even if it’s legitimate, it’ll be perceived as a negative.  The recruiter or hiring manager will wonder if it’s really you that has the negative attitude instead of your boss.  They’ll wonder if you’ll come to their organization with a poor attitude and eventually say the same negative things about them.