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In the world of job hunting, the interview is the fitting segue between your resume and beginning a new position, and most typically means you have made the cut from among all those applying for a job listing. This is your big chance to pitch yourself to the employer.
In selling yourself, be authentic. Six months from the time you start a job, after it’s no longer new, the employer will expect the candidate they hired to be the persona presented during the interview.
Interviews generally have become more rigorous than they were in previous cycles. And you may learn there are to be several callbacks in the hiring process, which can go on over time.
Obviously you want to make the best possible impression. Your positive attitude, being well prepared and calm, will go far in selling you for the right job.
Throughout your job search, and in particular preparing for the interview, good self-talk helps to Stay Positive. Review your best qualities that you bring to the workplace. Use visualization: "try on" the position by seeing yourself commute to work there, then imagine yourself going through a typical day based on the job description and what you know about the company.
As you look ahead to the interview, consider the qualities you want to take in to the meeting and practice these ahead of time, in your encounters. We suggest starting with mindfulness, poise, and authenticity, to which you can add any other ways to hold and present you that are appropriate.
You may want to develop specific affirmations as reminders to use in getting ready for the interview. Here are a few suggestions others have found useful:
Look at the qualities you are demonstrating today that will benefit you in your next job. Keep these at hand as you go through the interview process. Here are some examples* for your consideration:
You can also rehearse for the interview by Preparing for the Toughest Interview Questions. Based on what you find out about the job and the company, try to put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes and come up with a list of potential questions they will be likely to ask. Then, contemplate how to respond in a way that paints a good picture of who you are and why you are suited for the job.
Becoming familiar with the employer’s website will not help you Know the Company, it will also assist you in evaluating whether this position is right for you. In any case, it is best to go into the interview with an open mind, and then you can plan to make your decisions as to how to move forward once you’ve had the experience in judging the next potential steps.
Become familiar with Employment Testing and Assessments. It is altogether possible you will be asked to participate in such an evaluation as part of being interviewed.
If you’ve never been there before, you may want to go to the place where the interview will take place, in advance. This gives you a chance to observe how people dress for work, and more, to get a feel for the dynamic of the workplace or interview site.
Rather than waiting until the last minute, you will benefit from gathering materials to bring to the interview ahead of time:
Get a good night’s sleep the night before, so that you will be well rested and alert.
Wear clothes what makes you feel good, and make sure you are clean and well-groomed. Look in the mirror and see how you’ll appear to the interviewer. Whenever you are in doubt as to what to wear, you will less likely go wrong if you dress up more, rather than dressing down.
Prior to the interview, see yourself making the match, much as an athlete prepares for competition. Plan to arrive early so that you will have some time beforehand to relax. Taking some deep breaths as you travel and just before you enter the appointment also helps.
Following up after the interview can be considered part of the interview itself. Be honest with yourself and if you really feel you want the job, reply very soon afterwards.
In Writing Thank You’s, be appropriate. A nice, handwritten note is customary to send in follow-up. However in some situations, such as the high tech field, a succinct, well-crafted email may be more appropriate.
Consider also what you want to say — if there are to be a number of interviews and you are told this is the case, it might not be appropriate to send an effusive thank you following the first interview. Instead, simply conveying that you look forward to the next step in the process may be what is genuine.
Don’t be discouraged if an interview seems to have gone poorly or if the job itself doesn’t seem to be what you hoped it might be. You can always benefit from the experience of being interviewed — it will help you develop your interviewing abilities as well as assist in pointing you to the right job, even if it’s by process of elimination.
The interview is much more than a formality in which you present yourself for scrutiny. The interview process, like all aspects of the job search, is ultimately about your decisions and goes beyond just getting offers. Remember that the interview is a two-way dialog, rather than a one-way situation wherein the interviewer asks questions and the interviewee simply replies.
Your being focused in present time makes for the optimal presentation. Keep in mind that the interview is a tool to assist both sides in determining whether there is a good hiring match between you and the employer, in relation to the specific job description being discussed. Almost always, when it’s the right fit, you will know this by the time the interview process is complete.
1StopResume.com utilizes several sources to bring you revolutionary and fundamental job search wisdom. While we would like to acknowledge individually those websites, books and articles, authors, and masters, this list would be extensive. We thank these sources for their contributions.
* List is from "Getting Unstuck" by Suzy Welch in September, 2005’s O, The Oprah Magazine