People from all over the world travel and live in other countries and on their own to earn a living for themselves and their family. So, jobs are a very important part of our lives and every company has a system to choose their candidates. So, that system can be called as a job interview. Some interviews have tests of many kinds. You can think of an interview as a type of exam or an audition. Typically, you would need preparations for an audition to show your skills, in this case work ethics too. So, if you have a job interview coming up, these are some practical methods that always come in handy before and after the interview to ensure that you can make the best first impression by using these techniques.
Here are some steps to ace the interview:
1. Create a resume– Creating your resume can be a little difficult if you are a fresher but you can always ask someone for help and advice. The resume not only describes you in a professional manner but also, states your abilities and capacities. A resume needs to be updated after every job so that you can add some new set of skills or some new things you have learnt, achieved and experienced in the previous company.
Moreover, the resume needs to be edited and prepped according to the type of job you are going to apply for. For example, if you are applying for a physician’s job, then you will have to add about your medical qualifications accordingly. The resume cannot have irrelevant information if it’s not about the profession/job description. Make sure you add your strengths but not weaknesses. Also, make sure not to add false information or exaggerate anything because that might not get you through because the interviewer would clearly catch you lying and that would turn out well.
2. The outfit– The outfit you wear on your interview is very important as it’s a part of creating the first impression. Wearing a casual or party outfit including footwear to the interview might seem as if the interview has little importance in your life and also might wrongly indicate that you are not serious as a candidate. Additionally, make sure you have the outfit and footwear all clean and prepped prior to the day of the interview. It is also important to think about your makeup and accessories when dressing for an interview.
3. The hairstyle– As per psychology, our hairstyle depicts a lot about your personality. This is why choosing a suitable hairstyle which benefits and showcases your personality at its best is necessary when it comes to make the first impression unforgettable. If the interview is an in-person interview, you would be all ready to rock the first impression!
4. Practice the interview– Giving an interview isn’t the easiest of tasks as it is, so practicing the interview and answers plays a major role. One great technique to practice the interview would be to note down some relevant questions the interviewer would ask you, and so write down your answers to them thoughtfully with no rush. Once you have them ready in front of you, stand/sit in front of a mirror in a quiet place, read them aloud to yourself a few times or several times, depending upon how quickly you get accustomed to answering them, and try rehearsing. This would make you less nervous and get you ready for the interview. Another technique can also be tried, if you are comfortable enough, you can ask a friend to interview you with the questions you have noted and you can try answering them once you have practiced enough. This way the repetition doesn’t get monotonous. These methods of preparation would make you knowledgeable about the topic and so, much confident and less anxious.
5. Research– It’s all about research. Researching and learning about the company, the work culture of the company, and the ambiance of the workplace is extremely important for you to grow, make the right choice because it’s not always about money alone. Getting a high pay is great but if the work culture is not up to the point (you try to know about this by talking to some colleagues in that company), and if you don’t have any idea about it, it could lead to a frustratingly bad experience. Therefore, the key here is to do research about the workplace and work culture. Other ways can be, checking the organization or company’s LinkedIn and Facebook profiles.
6. Analyze the job description– While looking for a job, pay great heed to the job description. The goal is to identify between a real job and a fake one. For that, you would need to first check if the job matches what you are looking for. Google to know in detail about the job posting and especially, the company. An easy way to know that is to watch YouTube channels’ personal opinions and suggestions to know whether the jobs sites you are using to look for a job are genuine or frauds. In the job posting/description, check what are the requirements, skills, education, experience and duties of the job (what will the person doing the job will be responsible for) needed for the position.
So,to analyze and find out if the job posting is genuine you can analyze by focusing on whether the job description has typos, not well-written/incomplete description, unbelievably high pay and other things which you must be careful about. Also, you would definitely want to know what kind of candidate the company is looking for.
Mention Accomplishments by providing examples– Accomplishments, big or small, are still accomplishments. To show an interviewer you are the right person for the job, you should have certain examples of your own accomplishments in line. Some people have trouble thinking about how to put in order; the STAR model would be one of the best methods.
S – Situation: The circumstance where a problem had occurred.
T – Task: The problem you were trying to accomplish.
A – Action: The action you took to resolve the issue successfully.
R – Result: The successful result to the situation that had occurred.
Practice interview etiquette – Proper interview etiquette is important for a candidate. A warm greeting to the receptionist, the interviewer and everyone you meet will have a great impact on your own personality. While in the interview room, your body language, a firm shake hand, keeping eye contact and being attentive and looking interested will leave a positive impression. The more positive impression you make, the better you’ll do during the interview process.
9. Location of interview– It’s safe and important to know the location of the interview because you don’t want to get mugged or fooled and neither late in any case. So, visiting the location once and knowing the time you would take to reach there is not a bad idea to schedule your arrival to the interview in time. Nowadays, as we have the GPS, you can take the shortest route and come early enough to get a parking spot if you need one. You want to confirm the location and time so always arrive a few minutes before the interview.
10. Questions– It is quite obvious that the interviewer would ask you questions and you must always be prepared to answer them. As a known fact, listening is an essential method of communication, so it’s important for the candidate to ask the questions to the interviewer as well but only at the end of the interview. In order to give out an appropriate answer, the candidate must listen patiently and understand the question well. If not, feel free to ask the interviewer to explain to you what you don’t understand. Take a moment and answer calmly.
Bonus: Language Mingle is a great platform for you to get great assistance for your interviews. All the clients get a personalized tutor for them to study a language. However, they also focus on your career as well. Each person has a different view on their career. Their tutors take this into consideration and help you prepare for the interviews. They can guide you through the interview process and teach the general interview etiquette as well. For more info: www.languagemingle.com
