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IT recruiting firms will always put plenty of time into prepping IT consultants and their resumes for interviews for IT jobs.  However, there are some things IT contractors need to do to prepare themselves on their own.  Below are some of the things that technical recruiters may not warn you about, but you should never say in a job interview—whether in the information technology field or any other field.

1. Coarse language.  It’s obvious but it’s worth noting.  Even if your interviewer lets a curse word drop, try to abstain yourself.  It’s better to avoid anything but perfectly neutral, professional language in an interview.

2. Don’t portray yourself as a victim.  Employers want to see potential employees who can solve problems themselves.  Victims succumb to their problems and are overwhelmed by them.  They tend to require a manager’s valuable time and energy to be ‘saved’ from issues. Don’t be a victim.  Be empowered and an ideal employee.

3. Avoid placeholder words and imprecise words.  Anything like ‘uh, um, whatnot, you know, etc.’ don’t do much to help you.  The best thing to do if you’re having trouble completing a sentence or thinking of what to say is to pause.  Your silence will connote a real attention to presentation and detail.  Haphazardly throwing out a word so you can move on in the sentence says something a little less flattering about you.

Stop saying ‘um’ and other placeholder words in interviews. They’re hurting you more than you know.