Nervous for that next job interview and don’t know exactly what measures to take to prepare? If you haven’t yet perfected your common job interview questions, here is a head start on how to ace your interview with the best things to do for pre-meditated preparation.
1. Study the company
According to Andy Teach, author of From Graduation to Corporation: The Practical Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder One Rung at a Time, a major complaint of recruiters during job interviews is that candidates do not know enough information about the company they are applying for. Knowing the business you want to be a part of is crucial for any interview. Study their website; how they work and what they do.
This includes mission statements, products and services, press releases, board of directions, their culture—anything that will help you showcase your knowledge so who you can talk widely about who they are and impress them with how much you know.
2. Prepare a list of possible questions
Compiling a list of common job interview questions is simple to do with the help of Google. Preparing for these questions by practicing in front of the mirror or writing a brief for each will get you a head start on tackling things that are frequently asked by every recruiter.
3. Identify what they want from you
If you know what the basic wants and needs of the organisation (especially from the perspective of an employer), then you can structure your answers during the interview to focus on what the hiring manager is looking for. You can prepare for this by identifying the qualities and skills that the hiring managers wants for a specific position. Study the job description. Miriam Salpeter, owner of Keppie Careers, says that, “framing replies that demonstrate you understand their problems, or pain points, makes a big difference when competing with many other qualified candidates.”
4. Google yourself
This will help you see what potential employers can possibly know about you before they meet you. All this online content is relevant to hiring you. If there is anything negative, you should be able to respond with an appropriate answer that is cool and collected.
5. Ask yourself, “why should they hire you?”
Job hunts can be tricky, especially if you are applying to different kinds of companies. If you are in this tricky process, post the question “why should they hire you?” on your mirror or refrigerator. Rehearse your answer for the question often and construct the best idea of what you can offer. Recognise what are your strongest qualities and something unique you can bring to the table. Before every job interview, it’s a good idea to ask yourself why you’re a good fit for the job and the company. This will allow you to differentiate yourself from everyone else.
6. Practice makes perfect, but don’t be too perfect
Answering common interview questions through role play with a friend or colleague. This will allow to put yourself in that interview mentality and help keep you on your toes. If you want to take even further measures, you can film yourself doing a mock interview so you can critique yourself and see what you need to improve on.
Now there is a difference with over-preparing, it won’t be good for your interview if you come in with robot memorised responses to typical questions. However it is good to just have an overall strategy of how you are going to tackle an interview.
7. Previous interview reflection
Recording your previous interviews and reflecting how you felt you did during those should immensely help. A record of the company, how long the interview was, how the recruiter came across and the type of questions they asked will give you more insight on how to approach different interview situations and hiring managers.
8. Know your goals well
One of the most frequently asked questions during interviews include “what are your future goals?” so not only do you have to know your goals well, but you should be able to articulate them well. If you have a clear direction of where you want to go, a clear answer will look very credible to the interviewer.
9. Be positive
Going into an interview with a positive attitude on how the interview will turn out will usually lead to a better outcome. By preparing with a positive perspective, you’ll be able to answer questions without negativity and this will give a good lasting impression to the recruiter.
10. Get comfortable
Getting a feel and the hang of doing interviews can be tough, but once you are comfortable with the process then it’ll be more smooth and relaxed altogether. With all the preparation in the world, the simplest foundation you need for an interview is to be comfortable, relaxed and confident. This is the only way to present who really are during an interview and to knock it out of the ball park.
Need more help with preparing for your next job interview? Read more on the Powermeeter blog about deeper insights on the best practices and techniques if you are looking to be recruited.