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Interviews may sound fairly easy; all you have to do is discuss what you’ve accomplished and how it aligns with the job opportunity. However, in reality, the interview is often the most challenging part of the job search process and a significant reason why people fail to secure a job. While having a great resume with relevant experience is crucial, the ability to interview effectively is equally important. Interviewing isn’t just about talking about yourself; it involves asking the right questions, providing the appropriate answers, and expressing yourself in a manner that makes a positive impression.
This post delves into the interview process and offers useful links to job search advice and resources to help you excel in your interviews. What becomes evident from the provided links is a consistent underlying theme, emphasizing the importance of paying close attention and taking notes during the interview. The ultimate goal is to secure a job as swiftly as possible, enabling you to promptly pay off your student loans and prevent them from going into collections.
There are a few critical things you need to prepare in order to have a successful interview:
Company Research
When you are asked, “What attracts you to XYZ Corp?” it is crucial to have a well-prepared answer. Failing to possess a basic understanding of the company can likely result in losing the job opportunity. Employers seek not only the right candidate for the position but also someone who has deliberately chosen their company for specific reasons. Conducting thorough research on the company before the interview is essential as it enables you to proactively engage in the interview process.
Study the Job Description
Take the time to compare the job description, particularly the required skills, and experience, with your resume. If
Practice Questions
Take the time to review a comprehensive list of common and uncommon interview questions and make sure you have thoroughly considered your answers. Utilize the Internet to search for industry-specific interview questions that may be relevant to your field. Equally important, prepare a list of your own questions that you would like to ask during the interview. It’s advisable to have a list of twenty questions, though you don’t need to use all of them. This way, you will have spare questions in case the interviewer addresses some of them before you have an opportunity to ask.
Know Your Interviewer
Gaining knowledge about your interviewer is always beneficial. It allows you to familiarize yourself with their education, experience, and background. LinkedIn can be a valuable source for such information, but conducting a targeted Google search can also yield useful insights. However, it’s important to exercise discretion and avoid mentioning specific details you may have discovered during your research, as it can come across as intrusive or unsettling (for example, mentioning, “I noticed you were a swimmer in college”).
Additional Resources:
- 5 Simple Tips That Will Help You Ace that Job Interview – There are ways you can prepare for the dreaded interview and make the right impression. Many articles on acing your interview will tell you to research the company, but you’ll help your case even more by researching your interviewers as well.
- How to Ace your Telephone Interview – Telephone Interviews have become very popular as the first step in an interview process. Unfortunately, telephone interviews are probably the toughest type of interview. Without visual cues (from both the interviewer and the interviewee), it is very difficult to know when to pause for the next question and when you’ve nailed the answer. Telephone interviews require even more preparation than in-person interviews. One important advantage to telephone interviews is that you can (and should) refer to your notes during the interview (just be careful to pay attention and not pause for too long).
- 7 Uncommon Interview Questions – Be Prepared – Some interviewers like to get a little creative and put their interviewees in the hot seat by asking questions that break the classic interview mold. The purpose of these questions is to put you in a pressure situation where you are required to think quickly without losing composure. The benefits of these unusual
interview questions are twofold for the interviewer.
- Here’s How to Shine at an Interview – The first thing to be aware of is that often it’s not your lack of ability that leads you to defeat – it’s your nerves and mindset in how you approach the interview, so let’s look at some friendly advice on shifting your paradigm to tackle your tense state.
- 5 Reasons Why You Won’t Get a Job Offer – If you’ve been rejected when you thought you were sure to get an offer, then you need to figure out what went wrong and adjust your approach to be more effective and eliminate reasons why you have not been successful
- Interview Opportunities – Find more interview opportunities here.
Ace your next interview. Read on for some of the best job interview books that will help you ace your next interview.
