Why You Should Avoid Sarcasm During A Job Interview Or Review

Why You Should Avoid Sarcasm During A Job Interview Or Review

Job interviews and job reviews can be intimidating, and it’s tempting to break the ice with a bit of humour. If your sense of humour tends to be overly sarcastic, though, that might be a turn-off to your boss or potential employer.

Photo by savannaholson0.

It seems like advice that goes without saying, but sometimes we’re sarcastic without realising it. Small jokes might be taken the wrong way, as business speaker Michael Kerr tells Business Insider:

Now is not the time to use sarcasm, even if you think it will diffuse the tension. Using sarcasm will, once again, make you come across as disinterested. Similarly, it’s all right to use a little self-deprecating humour to show that you can laugh at yourself, but be careful about taking it too far…

Even to break the awkwardness, jokes don’t always work. As Kerr explains, that kind of sarcasm can make you look insecure, and your boss or potential employer might take it seriously. Again, it seems like something that’s fairly obvious, but it’s something to watch out for nonetheless, especially if your sarcasm is often lost on others.

36 things you should never say during a performance review [Business Insider]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


One response to “Why You Should Avoid Sarcasm During A Job Interview Or Review”