Congratulations on being invited to the interview stage!
You now have the opportunity to impress your potential employer, and make the job yours. You now need to put the time and effort in, and conduct sufficient research about the company.
There are a range of things that you will need to take into account in order to fully prepare yourself.
Below are some interview tips that you may find useful. It is essential that you come across as being professional and well prepared.
1) Do your Research
It is crucial that you undertake research on the company you are applying for. You should research areas such as recent product launches, background information such as when they were established, and financial information. It is also important that you are aware of any changes or developments that may have recently occurred within the industry. There are common interview questions that you will be asked such as ‘What do you know about the company?’ and ‘Why do you want to work here?’ There are many interview questions that are most likely to crop up so you should prepare responses for these.
Another tip would be to find out the interviewers name, so you can personally address them in the interview. It is important that you relate what you know about the business when responding to questions, to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.
2) Practice your Answers
There are a wide range of interview questions that are most likely to come up. You must ensure you have responses ready. You may be asked about your personal strengths and weaknesses. It is also useful to have an answer ready for the question ‘Why do you think you are the best person for the position?’ It is important that you think of actual examples you can use to describe your skills. Providing the employer with evidence of your success is an effective method of promoting what a suitable candidate you would be for the position.
3) Be Aware of your Skills and Capabilities
It is essential that you know where your strengths lie and put emphasis on them when answering the questions asked. If you are asked about your weaknesses, you need to use a point that can be turned into a positive. For example, having great attention to detail could be a weakness, but because you want things to be perfect, it shows you only want the best. It is vital that you portray to the potential employer that you would be able to do the job. You should talk about your skills, and should link them to your experiences which provide the employer with evidence of your capabilities.
4) Appearance
This is your time to make a good first impression on a potential employer. You should be smartly dressed and your clothes should fit correctly. Appearance should not matter, but people are often judged before they even have chance to speak. They also judge on what you are wearing and how you look. You should wear something that you feel comfortable in, it isn’t professional if you fidget whilst in the interview.
5) Stay Calm
It is important that you arrive in plenty of time for the interview. This way you can overcome any delays, and compose yourself on arrival. Everyone gets nervous from time to time, just remember to keep calm. If you have fully prepared yourself for the interview, you shouldn’t have any reason to panic. You should get everything that you want to take to the interview ready the night before, this way you can wake up without the stress of gathering your things together. When you are at your interview, just remember the interviewer is just a human being too, they may even be nervous about conducting the interview.
6) Ask Questions
In the interview, expect to be asked if you have any questions. It is worthwhile having some questions prepared beforehand. This will show your interest in the job. It may be an idea to prepare questions about the goals of the company, this will show the employer you have a keen interest in the business. You should try to prepare questions about the job role, ask a question about the training you will receive.
Jen blogs for eCertified Learning and many other education and business related blogs. Her main blogging interests are home learning and educational resources.