Welcome to our interview guide. This guide contains valuable information our team has compiled from our many years of research and interviewing. Here you can learn how to ace your next job interview and land the job of your dreams.
The primary aim of any interview is to determine whether a candidate is a good fit for the position, and whether the company and position are a good fit for the candidate. Interviewing is a skill like sales in that you must “sell” yourself and convince the interviewer that you are the best candidate for the job. Start by thinking of an interview as a simple conversation in which one person is looking to hire someone, and the other person is looking for work.
… company research and preparation, as well as your preparations
… be confident
… practice! It takes practice to develop strong interview skills
… recognize and overcome your nervous tendencies
… dress appropriately
… bring extra copies of your resume and reference lists
… arrive early
… make eye contact
… shake hands on arrival and departure
… be clear and precise
… take your time to consider your response when answering questions
… focus on ensuring that you discuss how you will apply your skills to the job for which you are interviewing
… ask thoughtful and intelligent questions
… use every interview as a learning experience. Every interview, good or bad, teaches you something and helps you grow
… be YOURSELF!!
… follow up to thank interviewers within 24hrs
… be late or unprepared
… speak or behave informal
… leave your cell phone on
… bring a coffee or food
… chew gum
… stare too long or avoid eye contact…
… turn into over-familiarity
… make inappropriate comments
… be excessively confident/aggressive
… ask trivial questions that waste time or have an obvious answer that you would know if you had prepared for the interview
… forget to ask your questions
The most important step in having a successful interview is to BE PREPARED. Several factors fall into this category starting with, including learning about the company, understanding the type of interview you will be having, what to wear, and the questions you will ask the prospective employer. You can do this by visiting the company website, looking at their goals, values, and mission statement, and carefully reviewing the job description to understand why you would be a good fit. Of course this all may not be possible without a strong resume. Having a great resume will open more doors for you and help you land more interviews.
Prepare Answers
Always try to structure your responses to demonstrate the value you can provide by citing concrete accomplishments, facts, and statistics. Your interviewer is likely already familiar with your background and experience; therefore, what they need to know from you during the interview is how you accomplished your goals and what the outcome was. Interviewers usually ask both traditional and behavioral questions to assess how you have handled certain situations in the past, assuming that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.
Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions during an interview so you can be prepared your response.
Traditional interview questions:
Behavioral Questions
Prepare Questions
Sample questions:
The thing your interviewer will immediately notice is how much effort you’ve put into making yourself look presentable. When interviewing for a job, always dress formally; even if the company is a trendy one in IT industry, the interviewer will be impressed if you’ve dressed appropriately. According to psychologists, blue is the safest bet for a job interview outfit. White or grey indicate that you are an organized or logical person, red means you feel powerful, and black can convey a severe or glamorous impression. Avoid green, yellow, purple, and other vibrant colors unless you want to project an image of creativity and joy.
The second thing that the interviewer will notice about you is your demeanor, so make an effort to respond to them in a friendly manner and to smile frequently throughout the conversation. The most recent studies on verbal and non-verbal communication found that: 7% of communication is what you say, 38% is how you say it: things like your tone of voice, rate of speech and volume, and 55% are non-verbal: all the other non-verbal cues and signals you give without saying anything such as general appearance, facial expression, body language, and gestures. Maintain open and receptive body language by making eye contact, sitting upright, and leaning toward the interviewer to demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm. Whether you have one or more interviewers, make eye contact with the person asking the questions and give each interviewer your full attention, whether or not they ask any questions. Give them all the same importance and nod or confirm when they speak. Never cross your arms, never keep them under the table, tap your foot, or gesture with objects such as a pen or phone. You can always ask the interviewer, “Could you please repeat the question?” if you need a moment to gather your thoughts or if you did not hear the question. Interrupt your interviewer as little as possible, but if you must, do so politely by raising your hand first.
You must sell your story and create a compelling career trajectory if you genuinely want to sell yourself. Therefore, organize your quantifiable accomplishments into a coherent narrative and always keep the story under two minutes. Rather than portraying yourself as an all-around performer, focusing on your exceptional abilities in one or two areas may be more effective. Begin by determining the one lasting impression you want to make on your interviewer and keeping that in mind as you respond to all of their questions. If, for example, you want to be recognized as the person who turns around underperforming departments, your responses to questions will be different than if you’re going to be recognized as the person who reduces costs
Practicing is the most effective way to increase your comfort and confidence during the interview process. It is also the only way to improve your interview skills. No matter how many interviews you have had, everyone needs to practice. Record your responses and practice until you no longer sound scripted, or practice with someone who will act as an interviewer. Mock interviews with an experienced interview coach are one of the benefits our customers are getting from interview coaching sessions. The entire mock session is designed to allow our coach to predict the interview questions customer can expect by matching their qualifications to the open role and taking into account the level and position of the person conducting the interview. Our customers then participate in an end-to-end mock interview, beginning with their first impression and ending with their closing statements.
Regardless of how hard you try, it is unlikely that you will maintain a false image throughout the entire job interview, and it is not recommended that you even try. One thing that will almost certainly damage your chances of landing the job is your interviewers concluding that you are dishonest. It is strongly recommended that you be yourself during the interview and accept that you will be judged on that basis. It is never a good idea to pretend to be someone you are not and even more so durng and interview.
Investing in yourself is the best place to put your money. Our interview coaching teaches customers the current best practices for interviewing at your career level. Each interview coaching session is completely personalized to meet your specific needs. Building confidence and practicing are the primary keys to interview success. Our interview coaching sessions will assist you in perfecting this valuable skill until you feel confident in your responses to the interviewers. It’s amazing how much of a difference confidence makes during interviews, and your career and income can depend heavily on a single or a few brief conversations. Our interview coaching provides a foundation for you to practice your interview skills. Getting the interview(s) right for your next position is vital to moving your career forward and having polished interview skills enables you to do so. An interview coaching session is the foundation, and your practice is the polish.
One of the most common mistakes made by candidates is to make grandiose but unsubstantiated claims about themselves. You must understand that interviewers are not interested in your self-perception or personal assessment of your abilities. You are invited to present your accomplishments, skills, and personality, and they will determine whether you are a good fit for the position based on those factors.
Our deluxe package includes everything needed for a successful job search. Included in this package and you get both a dedicated career coach and a dedicated resume writer. It includes everything in the professional package, including a total of two resumes and 20 reverse headhunting contacts.
Our professional package includes everything needed for a successful job search. Included in this package and you get both a dedicated career coach and a dedicated resume writer. It includes everything in the basic package, and also interview coaching and reverse headhunting contacts.
Our basic package allows our customers to start their job search on the right foot. This package include all the necessities for your job search and you get both a dedicated career coach and a dedicated resume writer.
