During interviews it's often the little things that disqualify a candidate from consideration - and they don't even realize it. One of those is the use of phrases that are trite and ambiguous. Because people go to interviews without searching inside themselves for why theyre changing and what their ideal job would be, they frequently use phrases that do more harm than good.

These ambiguous phrases may sound good, but they don't mean anything and aren't impressive. Their meaning is relative, vague, and subject to a WIDE scope of interpretation. The most common of these is "the right opportunity."

When asked for clarification, experienced job seekers often follow the question with a long silence, then say, "I would say it's..." or else buy time by repeating the question. What usually emerges is something that - clearly - has taken shape for the first time. Less experienced job seekers launch into an off-the-cuff answer - the brain is thinking as the mouth is talking, and there's a direct line from one to the other without much space between the two.

"The Right Opportunity" trips off the tongue so easily. When you say it, you have a vague idea of what "the right opportunity" might be, but you usually haven't defined it - or you'd be sharing your definition of the phrase instead of using it.

And to you, "the right opportunity" could mean anything relative to whatever company you are interviewing with - usually clarified by something you didn't like. Too far to commute? Not "the right opportunity." Base salary too low? Not "the right opportunity." Too much travel? Not "the right opportunity."

Your Right Opportunity needs to be defined by the positive - not the negative. The Right Opportunity is what you DO want, not what you DON'T want. If you prepare prior your job search, you know what you must have in a job to make you happy, in what priority those factors fall, and you are ready to recognize it when you see it.

For instance:

• do you prefer smaller companies where you can roll up your sleeves and wear many hats?
• or smaller companies that need help growing?
• are you a corporate guy who wants to work his way through different positions or divisions to the VP level, aiming eventually for a top-level spot?
• is that why you got your MBA?
• or are you hoping the company will pay your way through school to get your MBA?
• are you looking to develop your leadership skills and get into management?
• do you want to stay part of the team instead of being a leader of the team?
• do you want to travel? not travel? work alone? in a group? develop? or just implement? solve problems and clean up? or come into a company that is running smoothly?

The RIGHT OPPORTUNITY for one person is clearly NOT the RIGHT OPPORTUNITY for someone else. Without a definition, it says nothing for you or about you - except that your interview strategy is unplanned, your goal is undefined, and you haven't done much homework on a very important subject - your next job.

copyright: Judi Perkins 2006