The pinnacle of all academic and professional pursuits is a rewarding and enjoyable career, and impressing an interview panel is a crucial step towards this ideal. However, between you and a dream job is a formal meeting where professionals will interrogate your suitability for employment. The following seven job interview preparation tips will come in handy for job-seekers, especially new ones:
1. Prepare a Resume
Although a resume reaches the interviewer before the crucial day, it contains details that will inform the questions you will answer, thus demanding careful preparation. Invest time and effort in preparing a resume since it offers the potential employer a first glance into your suitability for the job.
The fact that you have landed an invitation for an interview attests to the impressive quality of the document. Nevertheless, numerous technical issues must be clarified during the face-to-face meeting with a potential employer. If preparing a resume is difficult, seek the assistance of knowledgeable friends and people working in your career field.
2. Search for Relevant Information as Interview Preparation
Interview panels pose no threat to a candidate who searches for job-related information prior to this meeting. Consequently, keep the job advertisement for reference and seek to understand the job description; the precise duties to be assigned to the successful candidate. Besides, research the profession and pertinent current practices by talking to people in similar jobs.
In addition, search for remuneration details because interviewers will demand to know your expectations. While you may not get exact figures, estimates within market standards will increase your interview points. Numerous job interview tips overlook this aspect, yet many candidates lose the script at this point.
3. Understand the Organization
It is foolhardy to attend an interview while knowing little concerning the pertinent organization. It denotes irresponsibility and shallow-mindedness. With the marvels and conveniences provided by the internet, having a vague or erroneous understanding of a potential employer is unforgivable.
Search for the history, mandate, mission, vision and achievements of the entity that has honored you with an interview. If you lay your hands on a recent performance report of the organization, study it carefully. Find out also whether the organization has been in public limelight lately and what contributed to the scenario.
4. Arrive in Time
Job interview preparation entails physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing, especially on the material day. Thus, arrive in time and introduce yourself at the entrance considering some of those you interact with might soon be your colleagues. Familiarize yourself with the premises before your turn to face interviewers comes.
If you have thirty minutes or so to spare, don’t just sit. Walk into an open area and imbibe fresh air to relax your mind for the task ahead. As a keen observer, you might also gain insights into organizational behavior by studying employees’ behaviors, interaction and mode of dressing. It’s all about overcoming anxiety and being at ease.
5. Communicate Confidently with Interviewers
When the moment arrives, listen keenly and only talk when prompted. When communicating, exude poise and warmth. The interviewing panel comprises fellow human beings who can only deny one a job but cannot kill! You may not remember all the tips for job interviews you have learned, but communicating with authority leaves a powerful impression.
6. Ask Relevant Questions
The sixth tip concerns posing questions to the panel as this is bound to happen towards the end of the session. Many job-seekers expect only to answer questions during interviews. As a result, when roles are reversed, such candidates become disconcerted and tongue-tied. Ask relevant and intelligible questions to gain knowledge about the firm and to impress the panel.
If any issues concerning the organization were not answered during your preparation, seek for answers now. For example, inquire on career advancement in terms furthering your education and upward mobility. Few job interview preparation tips incorporate this component.
7. Thank the Panel
Finally, express your gratitude to the interviewers for the opportunity. If you deem it necessary, and based on the number of interviewers and acceptable behavior, shake the hand of each one of them firmly and warmly. Never forget that gratitude, courtesy and etiquette can open countless employment doors faster than academic papers.
Armed with these tips for job interviews, and having spent time internalizing and implementing them, it is only a matter of time before your eureka moment arrives.
