What do you want to accomplish in your next interview? Although most people know that the interview is important to both you and the employer, few job seekers have a clear sense of what they need to accomplish during those critical minutes. Later, we will describe interview techniques in more detail, but what follows will help you get a quick understanding of the most important things to do in an interview.
1. Make a Positive Impression
Employers rarely hire someone who makes a negative first or later impression. These tips can help you make a positive impression before and during your interview.
2. Communicate Your skills
If you have created a reasonably positive image of yourself so far, an interviewer will now be interested in the specifics of why they should consider hiring you. This back-and-forth conversation usually lasts from 15-45 minutes and many consider it to be the most important and most difficult task in the entire job search.
Fortunately, by visiting this site, you will have several advantages over the average job seeker:
1. You will know what sort of job you want.
2. You will know what skills are required to do well in that job.
3. You will have those very skills.
The only thing you have to do is to communicate these three things by directly and completely answering the questions an employer asks you.
3. Use Control Statements to Your Advantage
A control statement is a statement you make that becomes the roadmap for where the conversation (interview) is going. Although you might think you are at the mercy of the interviewer, you do have some ability to set the direction of the interview from the chitchat to the focus you desire.
For example, you might say something direct, such as “I’d like to tell you about what I’ve done, what I enjoy doing, and why I think it would be a good match with your organization.” Your control statement can come at the beginning of the interview if things seem fuzzy after the chitchat or any time in the interview when you feel the focus is sifting away from the points you want to make.
Here are some other control statements and questions to ask early in an interview:
- How did you get started in this type of career?
- I’d like to know more about what your organization does. Would you mind telling me?
4. Answer Problem Questions Well
All employers try to uncover problems or limitations you might bring to their job. Yet according to employers in Northwestern University Report, about 80 percent of all job seekers cannot provide a good answer to one or more problem interview questions. Everyone has a problem of some sort, and the employer will try to find yours. Expect it. Suppose that you have been out of work for three months. That could be seen as a problem, unless you can provide a good reason for it.
5. Ask Good Questions
Many employers ask at some point in the interview whether you have any questions. How you respond affects their evaluation of you. So be prepared to ask insightful questions about the organization. Good topics to touch on include the following:
- The competitive environment in which the organization operates
- Executive management styles
- What obstacles the organization anticipates in meeting its goals
- How the organization’s goals have changed over the past three to five years
Generally, asking about pay, benefits, or other similar topics at this time is unwise. The reason is that doing so tends to make you seem more interested in what the organization can do for you, rather than in what you can do for it. Having no questions at all makes you appear passive or disinterested, rather than curious and interested.
6. Help Employers Know Why They Should Hire You
Even if the interviewer never directly says it, the question in his or her mind is always “Why should I hire you over someone else?” The best response to this question provides advantages to the employer, not to you. A good response provides proof that you can help an employer make more money by improving efficiency, reducing costs, increasing sales, or solving problems (by coming to work on time, improving customer service, organizing one or more operations, offering knowledge of a particular software or computer system, or a variety of other things.).
7. Close the Interview Properly
As the interview comes to an end, remember these few things:
Don’t let the interview last too long. Most interviews last 30-60 minutes. Unless the interviews asks otherwise, plan on staying no longer than an hour. Watch for hints from interviewers, such as looking at a watch or rustling papers, that indicate that they are ready to end the interview.
Summarize the key points of the interview. Use your judgment here and keep it short! Review the major issues that came up in the interview with the employer. You can skip this step if time is short.
If a problem came up, repeat your resolution of it. Whatever you think that particular interview may see as a reason not to hire you, bring it up again and present your reasons why you don’t see it as a problem. If you are not sure what the interviewer is thinking, be direct and ask, “Is thee anything about me that concerns you or might keep you from hiring me?” Whatever comes up, do as well as you can in responding to it.
Review your strengths for this job. Take this opportunity to present the skills you possess that relate to this particular job one more time. Emphasize your key strengths only and keep your statements brief.
If you want the job, ask for it. If you want the job, say so and explain why. Employers are more willing to hire someone they know is excited about the job, so let them now if you are. Ask when you can start. This question may not always be appropriate, but if it is, do it.
8. Follow Up After the Interview
The interview has ended, you made it home, and now you just sit back and wait, right? Wrong. Effective follow-up actions can make a big difference in getting a job offer over more qualified applicants.
