Career expert reveals most common ‘cringe’ job interview mistake

By Holly Mei-Yu Stafford

An employment expert has revealed the most common mistake people make in interviews - and how to use AI to secure your role.

CEOs Joseph Black and Oliver Jacobs, both 29, run an app that matches brands and companies with students looking for work.

Oliver, from East London, says the one "cringe" mistake nearly everyone makes in interview is "calling yourself a team player."

"People overuse the word 'team player' or 'hardworker' – it's cringe," he said.

"Hiring teams expect candidates to already be that.

"If you want to highlight that attribute, talk about how you add to a team through previous experience.

"It's all about what you're bringing to the company and are going to add."

Joseph, from Hampsted, London, but based in Los Angeles, California, says "graduates are now essentially competing with AI" - but they can use the tech as a "co-pilot" to help when apply for jobs.

He advises inputting the job description into ChatGPT and asking it to break down each section.

"It's great for taking information and formatting it to understandable terms," he said.

"Understanding what exactly the company is looking for will be is the difference between landing that role or not."

He added: "As employers, we know what looks good on a CV and what shouldn't be on there.

"Things like not having extracurricular interests on a CV or references can hinder being shortlisted because it's boring."

Oliver added:" I tell graduates to be selective when applying to roles.

"Don't waste time applying to jobs that aren't a good fit or calling you.

"I also tell them to be honest - don't create a level of fluff.

"If you don't know an answer to a question, just say 'I don't know this right now, but let me come back to you'

"And never use 'what's your greatest weakness' question as a chance to talk yourself up.

"Pick something you genuinely struggle with but won't hinder your ability to do the job."

As university graduates, Joseph and Oliver saw firsthand the student financial crisis and the difficulty of trying to get a job.

In January 2016 they founded Unitaskr - formally UniDosh - software which helps connect students with brands like Red Bull, Adobe and Amazon, who outsource tasks like product testing, admin tasks and graphic design.

The duo also founded the creator marketing agency and platform, Shout, in September 2019.