With increasing competition in the job market, it is even more important than before that you are able to clearly convey your skills and capabilities during a job interview.
If you haven’t attended an interview for a number of years or just want to “brush up” your technique, the following hints and tips will help you be better prepared, feel more confident and come across to the interviewer in the best way you can.
1. Research the Organisation fully before you go in. It’s basic but many people don’t!
2. During the interview, determine to observe the 50-50 rule (listening Vs talking).
3. In answering the employer’s questions, observe the twenty second to two minute rule.
4. Determine to be seen in the interview as a resource person, not a job beggar. Think what problems the organisation might have and how you can solve them.
5. Realise that the employer will think that the way you are doing your job-hunt is the way you will do the job if employed Therefore don’t come across disorganised, ill prepared or unprofessional at the interview.
6. Bring evidence of your previous success.
7. Determine ahead of time not to bad mouth your previous employer(s) during the interview. It will only stand against you if you do.
8. Determine that the interview will be part of your ongoing research and not just a sales pitch. So ask plenty of questions!
9. It will help if you mentally catalogue, ahead of time, not your fears, but the employer’s. What are the risks of employing you? Perhaps you don’t fit their requirements exactly, so what can you do to persuade them?
10. You don’t have to spend hours memorising a lot of “good answers” to potential questions from the employer; there are probably only five questions that matter
(a) “Why are you here?”
(b) “What can you do for us?”
(c) “What kind of person are you?”
(d) “What distinguishes you from nineteen other people who can do the same tasks that you can?”
(e) “Can I afford you?”
11. What about your body language. Make sure it is congruent with what you say. If you tell a lie it will be spotted by a good interviewer.
12. Employers don’t really care about your past; they only ask about it in order to try and predict your future performance and behaviour so make sure it fits with what they want.
13. Interviews are often lost within the first two minutes, so make sure that you make a good first impression. If you are unsure how you come across, get feedback from others.
14. Before you go to the interview think about your weaknesses and identify which ones are not relevant to the job. When asked about your weaknesses you can truthfully reply with 2 or 3 examples knowing that they will not count against you.
While the hints and tips above will not guarantee success, they will help you to be better prepared and therefore increase your chances of getting the job you want.
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