Many applicants have been told, "don't hold back during the interview" or "connect with the interviewer" as they try to land their dream jobs. And although this is not necessarily bad advice, there's a thin line between connecting with the interviewer and overstepping (or oversharing in this case). In fact, oversharing information could very easily mar an applicant's chances of landing the job they want.
"How?" You may be wondering.
Well, here are a few ways in which oversharing during your job interviews could damage your prospects:
Ideally, when you meet with a hiring manager during an interview, their goal is to learn more about you in a professional context but when you overshare, you begin to talk too much, which ultimately makes you seem unmetered or unfiltered which would hurt your prospects. Besides, oversharing raises more questions than it answers. It makes the interviewer think of more questions to ask to get more information, which leads to a longer interview process (which often isn't great for candidates).
For example, if you've been laid off or fired, it can be tempting to tell your interviewer the entire story of what happened—how your boss was a jerk and the company treated you unfairly in some way, but you should resist this temptation. Instead, if you are asked about it, consider focusing on why you were let go and how you learned from it. This is candid advice for any interview question, actually. The best way to answer an interview question is with a direct response that's clear and avoids details that don't matter for the situation (and sometimes even details that do matter).
Often, job interviews are on a tight schedule and require interviewing multiple candidates in addition to their day-to-day operations. As a result, job seekers who monopolize the conversation show a disregard for the interviewer’s agenda and disrespect for their time. This may mean there would be no time for other important issues thereby preventing the hiring manager from gathering all the necessary details.
When the interview is drawing to a close and the interviewer still hasn’t learned enough information to accurately evaluate the candidate for the position, it puts them (the interviewer) in the awkward position of either being late to their next appointment or ending the interview without the facts they require to make a hiring decision which can leave them feeling like they lost control of the discussion.
When candidates are easily distracted and struggle to stay on topic when answering questions about their work history or qualifications, interviewers may be concerned about their ability to focus on assigned tasks or projects within the deadlines. If you were so oblivious to your interviewer's discomfort during the interview and negligent of the time, surely there are little chances that you wouldn't demonstrate the same behavior if you are offered the job.
To fight distractions during interviews, ensure you are adequately prepared. Make proper research about the company and its operations, prepare for common interview questions, have a script, practice, and perfect your lines before the day of the interview. Of course, this doesn't mean that you should be rigid and robotic, but for the most part, ensure you stick to the script.
You don't want your interviewer to think that you'll be sharing company secrets (or worse) with anyone who will lend an ear. If you however feel like you haven't said enough and need to say more, consider asking the hiring manager some questions.
Some questions you could ask the hiring manager are:
Remember to not interrupt your interviewer while trying to ask your questions. Instead say something like " I have a few questions, do you mind if I ask them?" or ease into it by asking one question at a time during the interview if the interviewer mentions something closely related to your question.
Do not overshare but be open and honest. Do not go overboard with your answers. Your hiring manager wants to know they’re hiring someone qualified, so give them just the right amount of information needed to assess your abilities.
Giving details of the time you rescued a puppy from a burning building during your last year at university may seem admirable or even humorous, but if it doesn't relate to your job prospects in any way; hence it's not useful to the interviewer. You do have plenty of other things you could be talking about that would be more relevant —such as achievements in previous jobs, or qualifications gained since leaving education. Your interviewer will find out all the extra (spicy) details they need to know about you anyway once they've offered you a job so there is no need to waste their (and your) time and hurt your chances by going into irrelevant details during the interview.
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