TOP 10 BIGGEST INTERVIEW MISTAKES 面試十大禁忌

Learn what not to do when going for a job interview

Hiring managers don’t want to hear a lot of things during an interview – confessions of a violent past, a cell phone ring, a toilet flush. Yet job seekers have committed these interview gaffes and worse, according to CareerBuilder.com’s annual survey of the worst interview mistakes. Odd behavior isn’t the only way to ruin your chances of landing a job. When hiring managers were asked to name the most common and damaging interview mistakes a candidate can make, 51 percent listed dressing inappropriately. Forty-nine percent cited badmouthing a former boss as the worst offense, while 48 percent said appearing uninterested. Arrogance (44 percent), insufficient answers (30 percent) and not asking good questions (29 percent) were also top answers.

To ensure your interview is smooth and error-free, follow these five tips.

Do some research: When you walk into a job interview, knowledge of the company’s history, goals and current activity proves to the interviewer that you are not only prepared for the interview, but also that you want to be a part of the organization.

Don’t lie: If the conversation drifts to a topic you’re not knowledgeable about, admit you don’t know the answer and then explain how you would go about finding a solution. Displaying your problem-solving skill is better than babbling about something you don’t understand.

【Chat Room】

uninterested / disinterested

uninterested 不感興趣、不關心的

Jennifer is uninterested in marriage.  

Jennifer對結婚不感興趣

appearing uninterested

文章中提到48%的面試官覺得面試者一付興致缺缺的樣子令他們討厭。

disinterested 公正無私的

A judge should be disinterested. 法官應該公正無私

【Key word】

gaffe 失禮、失態、失言

I made a real gaffe to call my boss’s wife by her first name.

我直呼老闆太太的名字，是很嚴重的失言

Sean made a terrible gaffe by criticizing his mother-in-law’s cooking.

Sean 批評岳母的廚藝實在非常的失禮

badmouth (v)說某人壞話、很苛刻的批評

Elaine loves to badmouth her supervisor.

Elaine喜歡說上司的壞話

Badmouthing is one of her biggest flaws.

說人壞話是她最大的缺點之一

knowledgeable (adj) 知識淵博的、熟知的

knowledgeable about

Nathan is knowledgeable about home remedies.

Nathan對民俗療法非常了解

Pamela is very knowledgeable about the latest clothing trends.

Pamela對服裝的最新流行趨勢暸若指掌

confession (n) 承認、坦白、告解

Has the thief made a confession yet?

竊賊招供了嗎？

violent (adj) 極端的、猛烈的

arrogance (n) 傲慢、自大、自負

babble (V)牙牙學語、模糊不清的說話 (n)

Working With Difficult People 搞定難搞的人 2011-04-15

What do you do when you must work with a difficult person?

不得不與很難相處的人共事時，該怎麼辦？

Recently we added a new hire to our group. According to our manager, she was a great fit for the team. It didn’t take long, however, for us to discover that she was a very difficult person to work with. People complained that everything had to be her way. She wanted to put new procedures in place and always challenged us about how things were done.

Once she asked me to do something for her, but due to our different opinions, we had an argument, and I felt miserable. I rarely raise my voice at home, let alone at work. After that incident, I reviewed the whole situation again in my mind. I realized that she’s just very detail-oriented and quite possibly a perfectionist, so you have to be very precise around her.

As a result, I changed my attitude toward her. I took her comments as took her as advice and looked at her as someone who could watch my back because she’s so detailed. As it turned out, we work great together, and we successfully finished a big project on a good note.

【More information】

Not sure if your office behavior is offensive? Here are a few more complaints that made the list of Things That Really Bother Your Co-workers:

*Wearing too much perfume.

*Chewing gum loudly.

*Showing up late for meetings.

*Sending unwanted e-mail.

*Telling offensive jokes.

*Complaining about the company and the boss.

*Trying to change another’s political or religious beliefs.

perfume (n)香水

【Chat Room】

new hire 新雇員

great fit for the team

hire / fit 在此 verbànoun

fits like a glove 像手套一樣合身：很貼身、非常合適

a good fit

Grammar on the go

We work great together, and we successfully finished a big project on a good note.

to finish on a good note à something has a good ending

We had thought the assignment would be boring, but we actually enjoyed working together and finished it on a good note.

to end on a good note

Although the school year started out with several unfortunate incidents, thankfully it ended on a good note.

incident 事件、插曲(通常是不愉快或非預期的)

The delay is a rare incident, Jack always finishes his work before the deadline.

The shooting incident was headline news today. 槍擊事件是今天的頭條新聞

precise 準確的、精確的、一絲不苟的

The precise date and place of the meeting will be posted on the website next week.

I asked Brenda to tell me the precise details from her date.

我要求Brenda告訴我有關他約會的每一個詳細細節

watch your back 提防出錯、提防暗箭傷人

You’d better watch your back at work. A lot of people want your position.

I’m so lucky that you watch my back for me I would be clueless without your help.

我很幸運能夠有你提醒我哪裡出錯，如果沒有你的幫忙我一定是毫無頭緒。

miserable 痛苦的、 討厭的