Interviews have always been a nerve racking experience. A situation where you are judged on your performance for a job. Everybody gets the jitters when it comes to interviews. Relax! Don’t panic. You need to overcome the nervousness.
No matter which career path you want to choose below are the best tips to help you land your dream job.
- Dress for success! When you go to a job interview, dress like it is your first day at the job. Dress appropriately to create the right impression during an interview.
- Always do your homework well before walking into an interview. Make sure you have complete knowledge about the company and the role.
- Specify your resume to a specific job offering: Remove items which are less specific to the talents the job calls for.
- Know yourself. Remember first impression is the last impression. Demonstrate your capabilities and qualities and how well you can serve them. Don’t be overconfident and aggressive.
- The surest way to obtain employment is to stop complaining about no work, get off the couch and go knock on doors with resume in hand. If you do that all day, every day, you will then be choosing which job you are willing to take. This tactic is independent of any economic times. They don’t call them go-getters for nothing. Anything less than that and you’re hoping someone feels sorry for you.
- You should know your competency and transferable skills. Competency skills are the skills matching your job profile and transferable skills which you acquired through other jobs, personal activities.
- Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut, Linkedin can be used for work opportunities and conversing with other people improving your interpersonal skills.
- Treat your search as a full-time exercise: the job of getting a job. You are employed by yourself as a sales person/marketing person selling the product you.
- Be mindful of your social media profile online. It’s not uncommon for employers to check Facebook pages and other forms of social media, so keep it clean.
- Be clear about what you want to achieve in life and about your career objective. It will keep you focused. You don’t have to do anything for the heck of it.
- Your CV is vital for a successful interview. Never bluff, include all your skills and experience to give you a competitive edge.
- Prepare well for an interview. You can make notes of interview questions which are most likely to be asked. Practice your answers. This will boost your confidence.
- Realize that you may have to work your way up. For example, if you want to become an apparel buyer, work for a company that manufactures or sells such goods.
- One option is to be self-employed or an entrepreneur, in which case your task is not so much to find and get a job, but to create a job. Most people who work for themselves, however, often started off with a “day job” that paid the bills until their preferred income source could take over.
- Work on your communication skills. Remember having a good technical knowledge without effective interpersonal skills will not take you anywhere. Be expressive and a good conversationalist. Dazzle the interviewers with eloquent speech.
- Make sure you can support your strengths by giving examples. You can prepare before but don’t falter while talking. It will not create a good impression.
- When asked about your weaknesses acknowledge them. If you are not able to describe, it signifies that you lack self awareness. You can’t be perfect in everything.
- Always be presentable while dressing for the interview. Your attire should be according to the role, culture and yourself. Please no tacky and brash clothing and accessories. You don’t need to be glammed up.
- Spend time on personal grooming. This will keep you calm. You don’t have to present yourself as a person full of nervous energy and fidgets.
- Be prepared for tough questions like “What are your wage expectations?or “Where do you see yourself in the next five to ten years?”. These questions can leave dead air spots in interviews and potential employers can see how quickly, or not, you can be with personal thoughts.
- Use placement agencies. They sometimes keep a good chunk of your income for themselves, but they can get you decent placements, so you can improve that resume. Never go to just one agency. Always go to as many as possible. It is easy and it increases your chances a lot!
- Know what job you’re going for.
- On the D day, relax. Be comfortable and wear a smile. And Voila! You will definitely crack the interview.
- Your body language is very important. Your facial expressions, hand movements, posture, voice and pace should send the same message.
- Don’t forget to make an eye contact. Your voice should be enthusiastic and do not stammer. Lack of enthusiasm will put off the interviewers.
- Keep all your documents well organized in a folder. Also be on time, preferably 15 minutes before so you get time to settle down and calm your nerves.
- Interview manners are very important. Bad manners will definitely be a turn off. Don’t bang the door, shake handily firmly, ask if you can take a seat, sit up straight and do not slouch.
- When asked about remuneration. You don’t have to be blunt. Instead you can say that you expect a fair raise in terms of qualifications and experience proportionate with peers.
Now that you have some good interview tips. Be confident, gear up and don’t let yourself down. Remember this is not the end of life if you don’t get through to the process. It’s just an interview. Good Luck!