It is okay to be predictable during an interview

In the season of New Year's resolutions, fresh starts, clean slates, and new beginnings I have decided to talk about being boring and predictable in the new year.  After ten years of recruiting I can tell some mind-boggling stories about how candidates tried so hard to be "different" or "unique" that they ended up bombing the interview.

I understand that predictability can come with downsides, but let's explore some of the upsides for a minute:

1)  It can show consistency.  If you come into an interview wildly over-dressed or under-dressed or with bizarre answer to questions or trying too hard to make a good first impression it can backfire.  I had a number of clients last year call me to de-brief after a first interview only to tell me that the candidate was immediately taken out of consideration.  It was usually because of inconsistent answers to basic questions.  Don't try to spin a wild tale, but simply try to Keep It Simple, Sam.

2)  What you see is what you get.  If the person interviewing you is an avid hunter and you have never hunted a day in your life, don't talk about anything related to hunting.  Sounds like common sense, right?  Yet candidates fall into a trap when asked a question about hobbies or extracurricular activities, tell a little white lie, and find themselves in over their head.  That is incredibly easy to sniff out.  Instead stick to your guns and only talk about things that truly are important to you.  If you do that in your personal life, it will transfer more naturally to your professional life.

3)  It shows you are dependable.  This again may seem like a "no duh" type of comment, but it is so important to exhibit qualities early in an interview that you can be depended upon for the simplest of tasks.  If you are the last one out of the office at your current employer every night, why not tell the interviewer that you feel like that is a small yet important responsibility.  Big accomplishments that can be shown on a resume are usually preceded by taking care of the little things.

Don't hear what I am not saying here - you still need to work hard to convince an employer that you are the top choice for a job if you really want it.  But especially early in an interview it is much easier to turn off an employer by trying too hard with gimmicks and an unpredictable style as opposed to showing all of the qualities of an employee that will be consistent, transparent, and dependable for a long time to come.

There are many more that I could list, but as always I like to hear from my readers.  What are some examples you can provide of why it could be a good thing to be predictable in an interview?