Eight Worst Things to Say in an Interview - Is This Millennial Centric

I read this on the MSN page today and had to laugh. Granted some of these things are common sense but when you as HR professionals deal with the Millennials Generation do you think all or most of these are still wrong. Given my expertise in managing the 1st onslaught of Millennials these need to be modified for them. As for Gen X, Y, and Boomers most of these would apply. Tell me what you think based on your experience? You should review my post on Millennials dated 5/27/08.

Interviews are nothing if not opportunities to drive yourself crazy. Just remind yourself to look good, appear confident, say all the right things and don't say any of the wrong ones. It shouldn't be so hard to follow these guidelines except you'll be on the receiving end of an endless line of questions. Factor in your nerves and you'll be lucky to remember your own name.

If you walk into the interview prepared, you can make sure you know what right things to say, and you can stop yourself from saying the following wrong things.

1. "I hated my last boss." - Your last boss was a miserable person whose main concern was making your life miserable. Of course you don't have a lot of nice things to say; however, don't mistake honesty, which is admirable, for trash-talking, which is despicable. My question is did he/she understand how to manage Millennials
2. "I don't know anything about the company." - Chances are the interviewer will ask what you know about the company. If you say you don't know anything about it, the interviewer will wonder why you're applying for the job and will probably conclude you're after money, not a career. "With today's technology," Moran says, "there is no excuse for having no knowledge of a company except laziness and/or poor planning - neither of which are attributes [of potential employees] sought by many organizations." My opinion is there is no excuse not to know the company
3. "No, I don't have any questions for you." - Much like telling the interviewer that you don't know anything about the company, saying you don't have any questions to ask also signals a lack of interest. Perhaps the interviewer answered every question or concern you had about the position, but if you're interested in a future with this employer, you can probably think of a few things to ask. "Research the company before you show up," Moran advises. "Understand the business strategy, goals and people. Having this type of knowledge will give you some questions to keep in your pocket if the conversation is not flowing naturally." I wonder how many HR people really know the company outside of benefits and general HR practices. Chances are most interviewees know more than the interviewer.
4. "I'm going to need to take these days off." - "We all have lives and commitments and any employer that you would even consider working for understands this. If you progress to an offer stage, this is the time for a discussion regarding personal obligations," Moran suggests. "Just don't bring it up prior to the salary negotiation/offer stage."
   Why?By mentioning the days you need off too early in the interview, you risk coming off presumptuous as if you know you'll get the job. My opinion is Millennials want time off and this will become common practice prior to any salary negotiations. Don't miss out on a good person. Millennials cherish their time off.
5. "How long until I get a promotion?" - While you want to show that you're goal-oriented, be certain you don't come off as entitled or ready to leave behind a job you don't even have yet. "There are many tactful ways to ask this question that will show an employer that you are ambitious and looking at the big picture," Moran offers. "For example, asking the interviewer to explain the typical career path for the position is fine." Another option is to ask the interviewer why the position is open, Moran adds. You might find out it's due to a promotion and can use that information to learn more about career opportunities. I agree don't put the cart before the horse.
6. "As Lady Macbeth so eloquently put it..." - Scripted answers, although accurate, don't impress interviewers. Not only do they make you sound rehearsed and stiff, they also prevent you from engaging in a dialogue. "This is a conversation between a couple humans that are trying to get a good understanding of one another. Act accordingly," Moran reminds. I agree.
7. "And another thing I hate..." - Save your rants for your blog. When you're angry, you don't sway any body's opinion about a topic, but you do make them like you less. For one thing, they might disagree with you. They also won't take kindly to your bad attitude.
   "If you are bitter, keep it inside and show optimism. Start complaining and you will be rejected immediately," Moran warns. "Do you like working with a complainer? Neither will the interviewer." I think keep your thoughts to yourself and stay on point.

Anthony Balderrama is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

What are your thoughts?

The Future of the Internet III (3.0)

A survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, artificial and virtual reality become more embedded in everyday life, and the architecture of the internet itself improves.

They disagree about whether this will lead to more social tolerance, more forgiving human relations, or better home lives.

Here are the key findings on the survey of experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020:

• The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.
• The transparency of people and organizations will increase, but that will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance, or forgiveness.
• Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.
• Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright protection will remain in a continuing arms race, with the crackers who will find ways to copy and share content without payment.
• The divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected, and the results will be mixed in their impact on basic social relations.
• Next-generation engineering of the network to improve the current internet architecture is more likely than an effort to rebuild the architecture from scratch.

More predictions about the evolution of mobile communications can be found here

More elaborations about the evolution of intellectual property law and copyright protection can be found here

More elaborations about the evolution of augmented reality and virtual reality can be found here

More elaborations about the evolution of the internet's user interface can be found here

More elaborations about the evolution of the internet's architecture can be found here

More elaborations about the evolution of the internet's impact on work and leisure can be found here

(12/14/2008 Report Janna Anderson Lee Rainie)

So what are your thoughts on Internet 3.0?