job interview

Preparing for the Interview (job interview part I)

Once you get the call for the interview, the next thing
that you have to do is prepare for it. You can never over
prepare for an interview. The more prepared you are, the harder
it will be to make mistakes. It is best to prepare yourself
emotionally as well as intellectually for an interview. Giving a
great interview is not as hard as some may think, but not as
easy as others do either. Here are a few things that must be
done in order to prepare for your next interview.

Remember, during an interview, you are a salesman. You are
there to sell yourself to your prospective employer. You want to
market yourself in the most interesting way possible. Great
preparation for the interview is your best bet. A salesman that
is knowledgeable, friendly and positive always gets the close.

Do Your Research
It doesn’t matter how much knowledge or experience you have
about the position that you are trying to get in a company if
you don’t have a clue who the company is or what they do. It is
disastrous to enter into an interview and not be able to tell
your interviewer what their company is about. How else are you
going to tell them why you feel that you would be a good
addition to their company?

A good and less time consuming way to get to know about a
company is to look up their website. You can get all of the
general knowledge about them that way, including the names of
key people and their job titles. (There will be more on that in
a minute) You should sift through most of their pages, including
the pages that show samples of their work and/or products.

You can also look them up in the media files if there are
any. Read the articles about them and soak in as much
information as possible. Another thing that would be nice to do
is to check out the surrounding area around the company. It
makes for a nice breaker during the interview. You can make a
comment about a particular monument or resting place nearby.
A trickier way to get a little extra information about the
company is to call them on the phone and ask general questions,
without referring to yourself as a potential employee. It’s a
nice way to get the goods on upcoming promotions etc.

Know Your Contact
When called for an interview, ask to whom you will be
talking to. It is nice to be able to greet your interviewer by
name at the beginning of the interview without first being told
who they are. It shows that you are on top of things, and have
prepared before hand.

You will also want to do some research on the person that
will be conducting your interview. Learn what they do for the
company and try to get some samples of their work or
achievements in the company.

If you know what department that you are going to work in
you may want to get the names of your potential colleagues and
superiors prior to the interview as well. This way you can get
some information about their roles in the company and the types
of work that they have done.

Mention some of the things that you learn about your
potential colleagues in the interview and about how much you
look forward to working with them in the future. If you can,
give an example of their work so that you will appear more
sincere.

Practice Your Responses
It is best, if you are prone to nervousness, to practice
giving your responses to the questions that may be asked of you.
(A list of the most common questions will appear later on in the
manual) You should practice your wording and the tone of voice
that you plan to use; Try keeping your responses as brief as
possible, but with as much detail as you can.

When you are trying to work out the proper responses to the
interviewer’s questions, you will also want to practice the art
of getting your nerves under control as well as ridding yourself
of any other odd habits while talking; like expressing yourself
with your hands.

Practice answering your interview questions with a friend.
Get his or her opinion about your delivery and gestures. Perhaps
your friend will have some nice insights for you to use during
the real interview.

Dress the Part
Pre-select your attire the day before your interview. You
want to make sure that your clothes do not have any wrinkles or
stains on them. Pick an outfit that best suits the type of job
that you are applying for. If you are going to work in an office
setting, you should dress conservatively. Soft earth tones are
best for women. Try to avoid mini skirts and shirts that show
too much skin. A nice dark suit is good for a male.

Of course if you are planning to work outdoors or in an
artistic environment, you can dress a little more casually. Just
be certain to avoid wearing denim jeans, over sized clothing,
and under sized clothing. Women should try and avoid wearing too
much make-up as well. It gives the wrong impression.

Even in the hotter seasons, you should not wear sandals or
gym shoes to an interview. It sends an unprofessional message.
The same goes for hats and other accessories.

Get Organized
Make sure that all of the things that you will need for the
interview are prepared the day before. Make a checklist of the
things that you will need if you have to. You should always have
an extra resume handy during the interview. You should also
bring with you a note pad to take notes during the interview if
needed. (Only write down the important things that you think you
will need to remember)If you have a business card, have one
handy, it makes for easy contact later, and it also shows that
you are professional and may help the employer to remember your
name.