Gili Malinsky

During her 15 years at Microsoft, "I was looking at thousands of resumes a year," says Sabina Nawaz.

Nawaz, who served in roles such as Director of Human Resources, eventually left to start an executive coaching company where she's been working with senior leaders. She has a book coming out in March, "You're the Boss," about how to be a good manager.

Among the resume red flags she suggests job seekers avoid are general statements that give no sense of what the candidate did in previous positions.

And here are two of her top job interview red flags.

1. Not getting the basics right

Many jobseekers have a hard time adhering to the parameters of the job interview. "I cannot tell you the number of people who simply don't get the basics right," says Nawaz.

Those could include:

• Being on time for the interview
• Making sure your camera and audio are working correctly
• Making sure you have researched the people and organization you're interviewing with
• Dressing appropriately
• Following up with a "thank you" note

These mistakes can come off as inconsiderate or disrespectful of your prospective employer's time. They can also give a negative impression of "how you show up at work," she says.

2. Not highlighting your positives

By "not outlining your strengths in the best way possible," she says, you'll miss an important opportunity.

The job interview is a chance to flesh out what you can do as a worker with in-depth examples. When Nawaz works with her clients, she tells them to find 20 to 30 anecdotes of projects or experiences that "they're proud of the results and they enjoyed doing," she says. These can be drawn from both personal and professional lives.

Once they've identified those achievements, she has her clients look for patterns: What strengths do those anecdotes highlight? Pick out the ones most relevant to the job, she says, and reframe them within a story that's half about the problem and then half about the resolution.

If you can deliver these stories correctly in an interview, you end up "looking like a hero," she says.

CNBC