| Going into an interview
without a plan is like committing employment suicide. There
are several things that you can do to prepare for an interview
that will make a lasting impression in the interviewer and
make your skills stand out from the crowd.
Once you get a call to go in for an interview,
your number one priority becomes PREPARATION. You can never
be “too ready” for an interview. The more prepared
you are, the harder it will be to make mistakes. Here are
several things that you can do to prepare for an interview.
Know Your Contact
When you do get a call for an interview,
ask the name of the person or persons that you’ll be
talking to. It’s a nice edge to be able to greet your
interviewer by name at the beginning of the interview without
waiting for them to introduce themselves. It’s the first
indication that you’re on top of things, and have prepared
beforehand.
Do Your Research
Before going to the interview, make sure
you do some research on the Internet. First try to do a search
to see if the company has an established website. Read about
their products or the services the company offers. Also do
more research on the search engines to see if there are any
articles that come up mentioning the company. You be amazed
how many information you can find out from search engines.
While you do your research and learn about the company you
can prepare your questions to take to the interview. It is
ok to ask questions and it will show that you have a genuine
interest in the company.
Practice Your Responses
If you’re the overly nervous type,
it’s best to practice your responses to the questions
that you may be asked by the interviewer. You should practice
your wording and the tone of voice that you plan to use. You
can also role-play with a friend or family member. Try keeping
your responses as brief as possible and do not mention any
of your personal information. An interviewer is only interested
in your work experience not your personal life.
Dress the Part
“Dress for success” is a phrase
that I’m sure you have heard a thousand times or more.
Never has there been a truer statement. It really does matter
what you wear and how you’re groomed. Again, we get
back to first impressions. As soon as the interviewer sees
you, he/she is already forming an opinion about you simply
by the way you’re dressed and groomed.
Get Organized
Make sure that all of the things that
you’ll need for the interview are laid out the day before.
Make a checklist of the things that you’ll need if you
have to search for them.
Attitude & Body Language
There are many things that you can do
to focus on the interview. Keeping your body language under
control is at the top of the list. It’s not just the
words that come out of your mouth, but often the mannerisms
that you use that will give the wrong impression. Moving around
in your chair, playing with you hair, tapping, crossing your
leg and swinging it or any other thing that you do out of
nervousness will be distracting to the interviewer and he/she
will notice.
Show Your Confidence
You’ll need to put yourself in the
right frame of mind before entering the interview room. Attitude
and confidence count and you need to have the right amount
of both. You can’t enter into an interview with a defeatist
attitude or lack confidence in your abilities. Again, you
won’t come off as the professional that you claim to
be.
Remember that during an interview, you’re
a sales person. You’re there to sell your skills and
expertise to your prospective employer. You want to market
yourself in the most interesting and appealing way possible.
Solid preparation for the interview gives you that advantage.
A sales person that is knowledgeable, friendly and positive
always closes the sale, remember that!
Simone Emmons is a human
resources professional of 18 years and founder of Hispanic-Jobs.com
and Asian-Jobs.com, 2 niche job boards for bilingual professionals.
At Hispanic-jobs.com
& Asian-jobs.com
we provide thousands of job opportunities for bilingual English/Spanish
and English/Asian-speaking professionals ranging from entry
level to executive level nationwide.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simone_Emmons
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