You must have given a lot of interviews, read and heard about lot of interview advice and tips and probably be an interview master by now. Or, you might be a fresher. Whoever you are, this post will interest you as it covers the simple things that we forget to do and ruin our chances of being the best possible candidate for a job.
Interview tips are pervasive. You search the web, and there are zillions of articles that talk about perfecting interview skills. However, we still don’t get it right because most of these advices are too complex to follow in practice. Here we talk about simple changes that you can include in your run up to an interview, which can change the entire complexion of the outcome. Job opportunities have this habit of sneaking upon us. Someone from your professional network might just call you out from the blue and ask you to come over a round of an interview, for a position which he deems fit for your career growth. Either way, going for that big interview isn’t a very pleasant experience. If you do these five things, it will ensure you come across as a better prepared and more suitable candidate for that particular position.
You can’t really expect the employer to have faith in your abilities until you yourself have faith in you, and this self-belief should reflect.
Contributor: Saurabh Tyagi
Saurabh is a long-time online motivational writer and a social media evangelist. He provides various advices for jobseekers, from applying to jobs effectively to interview tips. Individuals looking to rebuild their career or give it a fresh lease of life benefit the most from these posts.
Interview tips are pervasive. You search the web, and there are zillions of articles that talk about perfecting interview skills. However, we still don’t get it right because most of these advices are too complex to follow in practice. Here we talk about simple changes that you can include in your run up to an interview, which can change the entire complexion of the outcome. Job opportunities have this habit of sneaking upon us. Someone from your professional network might just call you out from the blue and ask you to come over a round of an interview, for a position which he deems fit for your career growth. Either way, going for that big interview isn’t a very pleasant experience. If you do these five things, it will ensure you come across as a better prepared and more suitable candidate for that particular position.
Read job description carefully
Job description is the most overlooked aspect of job hunting. Keep reminding yourself of its importance and the efforts that the person must have put into creating it. It is a vital tool which mostly goes unutilized. Wondering why? The job description of JD has the potential to give you deep insight into what’s important to the employer, and what are their expectations from the candidates they want to hire. Read each responsibility with care, and relate them with your competencies and how do they match. When you go through the skills section, pay special attention to the skills that you don’t yet posses or need to upgrade.Craft a creative story of your past experiences
Keeping in mind the job description, analyze through your past experiences and highlight your achievements. There must be things that you have done different from others, which impressed your boss and stood you out from the crowd. This is the time to highlight such situations through a well crafted story. Make sure to include all the important details that might be of interest to the employer and impacts your interview chances positively.Know your future employer’s business inside out
If you want to come across as a focused individual who takes on any new assignment with complete seriousness and sincerity, start right from your interview. While joining a new organization your first few days are spent learning about the working environment, people, and expectations of organization from you and how you yourself can be a match to those expectations. To be in safe waters the only simplest thing that you can do is prepare well; research about the company, its business, its core mission, vision and values. Interviewer will expect that you know at least what businesses the company is engaged in and how can you be a value addition to the same. Having your facts right isn’t the only important thing. In addition, you should have a strong perspective on why you want to work in that position and company. This is one question that’s on every interviewer’s list and therefore having an answer a ready for the same is imperative for you. Candidates which are able to express clearly and succinctly their usefulness and familiarity with the mission and vision of the organization where they are seeking a job, show their excitement about the prospect of getting that job are the ones who excite the interviewers most.Read the most commonly asked questions
While you are no magician or psychic who can accurately predict the questions that would be asked in the interview, it’s not that hard either. With some presence of mind and with a little assistance from the existing literature which is available in abundance on the web, you will certainly have a list ready of the most commonly asked questions in an interview. The worst you can do is being clichéd while answering them. These questions have been asked a million of times and probably the interviewer has heard all the possible answers. But that isn’t an excuse for being unimaginative. Tell your own story instead of coming up with generic answers.Engage in a self-confidence building activity prior to the interview
Most wars are won and lost in mind. As a Chinese strategist Sun Tzu puts it, “Every battle is won before it is ever fought.” Lack of self-confidence is one of the major reasons behind interview failures. Moreover, if you don’t have confidence going into an interview, you run the risk of underselling yourself. To ensure this doesn’t happen, practice a simple self-confidence building exercise. It could be anything, right from talking to you in the mirror to taking personality development classes, a self-confidence building activity is actually necessary. Optimism should reflect in your behavior as it helps your job hunting efforts.You can’t really expect the employer to have faith in your abilities until you yourself have faith in you, and this self-belief should reflect.
Contributor: Saurabh Tyagi
Saurabh is a long-time online motivational writer and a social media evangelist. He provides various advices for jobseekers, from applying to jobs effectively to interview tips. Individuals looking to rebuild their career or give it a fresh lease of life benefit the most from these posts.
