BEFORE INTERVIEW:
1. Do the research on your potential employer : Do research on the company when you have an interview. Gather information about the firm from all sources. Go through their websites, brochures and ask the employees working there.
This is very important. You need to know what your prospective employer deals with. Some times, the interviewers ask, “Do you know what our organization does?” That is a very good opportunity to explain the important activities of the organization.
When you explain well, the interviewer understands that you have enough homework about your potential employer. If the interviewer realizes that you don’t know much about what their organization does, it leads him/her to think that you are not much interested in the job.
2. Know in detail about the job requirements: If you want to increase the chances of winning the job-offer, it is advisable that you know about the job and the requirements in detail because you can clearly plan how you can project yourself as the ‘best-fit’ for the job.
The more you know about the job, the better your chances of success. Hence, do enough research.
3. Know yourself: You must know what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you fail to understand your strengths and weaknesses you will fail to project your effectively. You should know clearly what skills you are good at (strengths) and what skills and qualifications you are lacking (weaknesses).
4. Prepare a list of questions to ask: Prepare a list of questions to ask the interviewer. It is important to ask questions. It shows that you are interested and serious about the job. It is natural that only ‘really’ interested candidates ask questions.
Hence, you have to project your genuine interest in the job by asking the interviewer as many questions as are required to be asked by a genuine job applicant.
5. Practice the interview in advance: It is advisable to practice the interview in advance. The better you practice, the more you are prepared to face the interview.
Take the help of your friends or family and practice. Or take professional help from Career Counselors. It is worth spending some money to increase your chances of success. Preparation is the key to a successful interview.
Here are some tips for practicing interview at home:
· Practice in front of a mirror. Observe your body language.
· If you have a voice recorder, tape your interview and play it back. See if you require any improvements on voice-modulation.
· Practice in front of any person whom you know and ask for feedback.
6. Reach in time: If possible, reach the interview place early but never late. Allocate extra time for factors like traffic jams and locating the place, etc, and start much earlier than required. It is always better to reach early in order to freshen up and get acquainted with the place and people. You can thus save yourself the eleventh-hour tension.
If you think you will reach the interview place later than the appointment time given to you, call the interviewer and inform about it so that they may not wait for you.
Above all, don’t ever give excuses if you reach late to the interview. In such case, ask for apologies without mentioning the reasons for the delay, however valid the excuse may be.
7. Appearance and grooming: Your appearance also plays an important role in determining employer’s interest in your candidature.
Your skills, experience, and qualifications are undoubtedly important but that does not mean that your professional dressing and grooming should be tolerated just because of your unique abilities.
You may ask, ‘What type of dress should I wear?’ Anything that reflects professionalism is acceptable. For some professional job interviews suit is the right dress code. It depends on the type of job and location, too.
Following are the tips for grooming styles:
* Hair : Trimmed and neatly combed.
* Facial Hair (for men) : Freshly shaved; mustache or beard
neatly trimmed.
* Fingernails : Neat and trimmed.
* Breath : Avoid any bad breath. Beware of tobacco,
alcohol and coffee ordor. Use chewing gum if needed.
* Body : Avoid bad ordor from body. Use deodorant.
* Make-up (for women) : Use sparingly and try to look natural.
* Perfumes/Jewelry : Use perfumes sparingly. Avoid strong perfumes. Don’t overdo with jewelry.
* Shoes : Must be shining and matching the dress.
* Clothing : Conservative, professional-looking and well-pressed.
