Interviews can be very intimidating. This is especially true if you really want the position and company that you’re interviewing for. A job interview is usually a recruiter’s first dialogue with you and can be the breaking point of your application. It’s important to leave a good impression for them to consider hiring you. To help with this, here are some tips on what you can do to prepare for a job interview.
START WITH THE DETAILS
Be informed about the company and the role you’re applying for. It’s important to revisit what drew you into the position and why you applied for it. Having this as an anchor can keep you focused on why you want this role. This is also a good opportunity to know why they can also be a good fit for you.
Read through the qualifications and requirements. Take note of experiences that gave you relevant skills that match or fit what they’re looking for. Having concrete examples of past experiences is one of your strongest backings on why you are a good candidate for the role. Just make sure that it’s within the past 3 years.
If you’re applying for a role that would include handling a brand or a product, make sure you do a lot of research about these as well. It’s important to your potential employer that you know what you would be handling. It can be a plus if it’s a product, brand, or service that you also trust and believe in. If it’s a product that’s unfamiliar to you, check if you can avail of it prior to the job interview or request for it (if not available to the public) if possible. This is so you have a good understanding of the product or service that you might be handling.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Don’t memorize your answers. Instead, you should just practice answering different possible questions and question combinations. There are a lot of questions that can be asked and if you stick to memorization or have a cheat sheet of answers, you might blank out when you get a question you didn’t expect.
Practicing in front of a mirror, or with a friend, can help make you feel more at ease with what you want to say, and you can have better control over how you answer. This is important to make sure you remain calm and appear confident but not arrogant. In most cases, having a sound answer is not enough because how you appear and how you say it are equally important.
Make sure also that you answer as briefly as possible. Be direct when you can. This is important especially if you only have a short period for the interview and you want to cover a lot of areas. When you drag your answers, they can come off as inauthentic, insincere, or that you didn’t prepare for the interview at all.
PREPARE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
The job interview is also the perfect opportunity for you to validate if the company is a good fit for you. Use the research you did about the role and the company to come up with questions or clarifications, so you can also set your expectations and clarify what their expectations are. This is especially if you’re worried about the work culture or have dealt with ambiguous performance evaluations in the past. Before you go into your questions, clarify the remaining steps of the application process, what you can expect moving forward, and what would be discussed later on.
Some companies have one-day hiring processes or those with really few steps in the process. Asking for the steps can help you gauge the appropriate time for some technical questions like salary and shift specifics. Asking questions gives your potential employers the signal that you’re committed to pursuing this role, and that you’ve done your assessment on why you think you’re a good fit for them, and them for you.
