4. You name-drop
There's a way to establish the fact you have mutual connections with an interviewer without overtly name-dropping. Don't just start throwing out the names of all the people you know who work at Deloitte.
"That actually turns me off, quite honestly," Soltis-Berner said.
Instead, talk about how those connections helped you understand why the firm might be a good fit. Soltis-Berner said about 40% of Deloitte's experience hires — as opposed to those hired for entry-level roles or internships — were employee referrals.
"We have some sense that maybe we have a leg up because our own people would hopefully know our culture and what we're looking for," she said.
3. You pretend to be something you're not
Soltis-Berner said she specifically looks out for people who let their true personalities shine and don't "shift or change because they think they have to."
Stiffness or phoniness are major red flags during the interview process.
"Being who you are is really important to us because diversity of thought makes us better," she told Business Insider. "We don't want you to fake it through the interview. So if someone can articulate for me who they are, what they stand for, and why they think that matches with Deloitte, that's a home run for me."
2. You present yourself as inflexible — or too malleable
Preston said he likes to meet with candidates who are open to new experiences — even relocation.
At the same time, a candidate shouldn't be flexible to the point they seem unfocused — or even ambivalent. He said candidates can walk the line by expressing an interest in career development along with a real enthusiasm for Deloitte's mission.
"Everything's got kind of a balance," he said. "You want them to show a flexibility to be developed more broadly through their experiences and exposures."
1. You forget to do your homework
Preston said he's often asked to meet up with people interested in landing a job or internship.
"The thing that stands out the most for me in a positive way is someone who has done their homework about Deloitte and all the different services we offer," Preston told Business Insider. "They come in with a little bit of an education or an educated guess about who we are and what we do."
Failing to do so will sound some alarm bells.
"If you ramble and start to talk about services or things we don't even do or offer then obviously I'm not as interested," he said. "And some people do that. They have a perception of who we are and what we do but it's not very well-defined."
If you're going to interview at a firm like Deloitte — which offers a wide range of services from consulting to auditing to enterprise risk management — it's best to make sure you know what they're all about.
Otherwise, you could end up sabotaging yourself in an interview or preliminary conversation.
Source: Business Insider India