Do not use these words in an interview

‘Yes or No’ do not need elaboration unless asked. But when asked, do not use these.

Absolute words are a nuance to the interview. It is human tendency to exaggerate while answering a particular question that requires a yes or no. When the interviewer asks whether you can complete work under a deadline, the simple answer should be yes (if no, then no). You should not answer with “yes, I ‘always’ complete work before the given deadline”. This is because, first, a yes or a no is a complete answer in itself.

As Google answers us “an absolute word is an inclusive, all-encompassing, an end-in-themselves, non-modifiable word.”.

I read a small article by a Leadership trainer Mark Murphy, who says that these words need to be NOT used because they come out as vague and portray you as “clueless and delusional”. Why?

Let me give you an example — You are an interviewer and ask the candidate to tell about their experience while working on a project. There are two candidates who answered this way —

Candidate 1: I was always in charge of the leadership and have never shown my team otherwise. I believe that none of the members should be left behind while working on something.

Candidate 2: I was appointed as a leader in one of the projects, and it was very beneficial to me because it improved my management skills. I encouraged my team to brainstorm ideas and write them down so that no one is left behind.

Both the answers say the same, but the 1st one is the most answered and seems like a bluff. The second one seems a bit more professional and says a lot about the candidate as to how they would be helpful for any future projects at the company. You need to be situation-specific when you answer.

Here is a list of the words that shouldn’t be used while answering —

Always, Never, Impossible, None, All, and Every

When you google answers for some interview questions, you for 9 out of 10 times, get an answer full of words like these. Avoid these, and make sure that you answer some real-time experiences.

Again, calm down, and try attaching words to your experiences and explain them to the interviewer.

Ending with a quote by Joel Osteen, “Our words have creative power. With our power, we can speak blessings over our future.”.