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Top 5 reasons you are unemployed
by Clayburn Griffin
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
New York, NY
Views: 10,218

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You may blame the economy, but as any sad sap who’s ever heard the words, "It’s not you, it’s me" knows, it’s definitely you. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to always be you. I’ve compiled a list of 5 simple and common reasons candidates may get overlooked for their dream job.

#5. Too revealing answers to cheesy interview questions
Interviewers love to ask the dumbest questions. What’s your strongest weakness? What’s your weakest strength? Something like that. You’ll almost always get a question purely designed to make you uneasy and to put you on the spot. For example: “What’s the greatest risk you’ve ever taken and failed?” They’re setting you up for failure, to see if you take the bait. Of course, not taking the bait is a sign of weakness too. So, you either say you’re inadequate to some degree or you’ll be seen as inadequately answering the question. Neither works in your favor. Yes, it’s a trap.

So, what to do? Avoid answering the question with anything that would relate to your ability to do the job. You have to answer, and when the interviewer is fishing for your weaknesses, don’t admit, “I spend most of my time tweeting about tiger blood.” That tells them you won’t be focused on the job, and may hint at a drug addiction.

When you’re thrown these kinds of questions, keep it simple and for Heaven’s sake don’t say something that relates to the position you’re applying for! If you want to be a copyeditor and your greatest weakness is the English language, then it doesn’t matter how honest you may be. You simply aren’t going to get the job done. It’s also a mistake to go with a classic “I’m a perfectionist”. Really? I think you’re just a dishonest fool with no creativity. There’s nothing perfect about that.

Ultimately, you have to be original, be honest and go with a weakness far removed from the abilities needed to perform the job. “My greatest weakness is that I can’t do math quickly in my head.” If you’re applying for a copywriting position, then there’s nothing wrong with that. Hell, that’s what calculators are for. On the flip side, if you’re applying to be a web developer, then maybe your greatest weakness is understanding poetry.

Whatever your greatest weakness, ALWAYS follow up with, “It’s something that frustrates me. I want to improve and am always working at it.”

"Kryptonite, but I'm trying to build up an immunity to it."

#4. Job hopping
It’s like a man who’s been divorced multiple times. “There has to be a reason for it.” It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, that will be the perception. It can be particularly difficult early in your career to not job hop. Several positions are only meant to be temporary, and perhaps your life situation as well as goals have changed considerably during a short amount of time. That’s all okay, but be ready to explain it.

With internships, there’s always the question of, “Why didn’t they offer you a full time gig after it ended?” So, you should make it clear that it was only a summer thing or that you only wanted the specific experience before moving on to a more stable career (which you’re now applying for). You’ll want to make sure to convey that you’re looking for something real, steady and longterm.

Of course, that’s for spinning job hopping in the interview. First, you want to get to the interview, so consider working an explanation into your cover letter. That’s your chance to tell them you’ve been exploring different options, learning a variety of skills, and now you’re ready to find your career.

"Where I really want to be is TBS."