10 Personal Things Not to Say in an Interview

10 Personal Things Not to Say in an InterviewWe know were supposed to make a personal connection with our interviewer, wherever possible, but it is so easy to go overboard and, well, overshare. Its also easy to get nervous and babblenext thing you know youve gone and told a totally unnecessary story that wont make you landseem friendly and approachable, but a little bit too much. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Avoid making an inadvertent wrong impression by making aya to withhold details about the following 10 personal matters.1. Money ProblemsNo matter how broke you are, this is not fodder for the interview. Even if you pulled yourself out of a big black hole, financially speaking, this is a story to tell over drinks once youve worked somewhere for years, not during the interview.2. Relationship ProblemsYour interviewer may be really nice and empathetic, but your divorce, your spouses needs and wants, your childcare disasters, your tro ubled ex none of this will help you get the job. These details can actually hurt. You never want to present yourself as that colleague who can never shut up about their personal life. Keep your interview, at least, drama free.3. Legal ProblemsWhatever you do, dont bring up any brushes with the law or lawsuits. No matter whether you are at fault, it wont help your interviewer to look kindly upon you. Leave your legal woes for your lawyers office.4. Health ProblemsYour illnesses and injuries are not good topics for an interview. You dont have to bring them upeven if you took time off to deal with them. If you can get away with not disclosing that information, do. Let your interviewer make mora positive assumptions about why you took that year off from an old job. Then you wont seem like a liability to hire.5. Family PlansIts always best to leave out that youre trying to have a baby and you anticipate taking maternity leave soonor cutting back on hours just after youve been hired. It i s illegal to discriminate on the basis of pregnancyeven the intent to become pregnant. But dont give any hiring managers who dont know the law the chance to talk themselves out of offering you the job.6. Burned BridgesSo you had a less than savory departure from your last job. Keep it to yourself. Stay classy, keep the high road, and move on. Say you were just ready for something new. This will signal to the interviewer that you arent a risk of bad-mouthing their company, should you end up leaving this job in unsavory circumstances too.7. ReligionUnless youre applying for a job in a religious institution, you can keep your faith to yourself. (You dont have to answer this question, by the way, even if asked directly.)8. PoliticsWhen in doubt, just steer clear. Unless, of course, youre applying to work at a political firm or company. Otherwise, keep mum. Political conversations among coworkers can be contentious enough.9. ExtracurricularsIts always great to mention particularly intere sting hobbies or volunteer work. But make sure you dont play them up too much, and risk your interviewer getting the impression that you wont have time to do your real job for all the time and effort you put into your outside, unpaid one.10. ComplaintsParticularly when it comes to former jobs or bosses. Keep a positive spin on everything you say. Friends are the people you rant too when you need to get some frustration off your chest. Your interviewer wants to see the very best of you.Keeping calm and very well prepared can prevent you from babbling and running into any of the above traps. When in doubt, practice until perfect. And take a good deep breath before going in. Stay calm and keep it professional and youll do fine.