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YOUR JOB
INTERVIEW: FIVE STEPS TO SUCCEED AT IT
By Heather Eagar |
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When you are called for the interview, that is
where you have to play to win. Although this one
step will determine whether you get an offer or
not, what actually determines how you perform in
an interview depends on many things. So
preparing with specific interview techniques in
mind carries equal importance as being skilled
for the position.
Five Tips: Your Job Interview
There are as many aspects to consider and
prepare in with regard to an interview as there
are career counselors and job sites. But trick
lies in identifying what applies to you
specifically. At the same time, you can't forget
there are some fundamental tricks that will help
you get through even the toughest interview:
1. Preparing Well And Presenting Your Skills
And Abilities: This is this core area which
is going to be tested at the interview. And it
is the fundamental reason for which employers
will either hire you or not. So brush up and
update your knowledge base by preparing well in
the preceding week. You can anticipate harder
questions in these areas and prepare
accordingly. New grads need to be able to relate
their knowledge to practical situations and this
can be easier with internship experience.
2. Presenting The Best You: This may seem
obvious, but sadly, it isn't practiced all the
time. Well groomed/combed hair, manicured nails,
pressed suit and tie, and references & any
certificates/resume copies neatly arranged in a
decent folder are an important part of this
step. Then your manners, body language,
composure and reactions to harder questions come
into play. Because your body language can give
away any negative feelings that you may have,
you can practice mock interviews with a friend
beforehand. During the interview, try to stay
relaxed and focused.
3. The First Impression Will Be The Only One:
It's not fair, but neither is life.
Over-politeness, silence, unnecessary fear,
stuttering, hesitation to question the
interviewer for information and not asking for a
question to be repeated if you didn't hear
clearly will be one-time mistakes. Be alert
during the interview; if you need more time to
think about a question, let the interviewer know
this rather than just jumping in with an answer
that is not well thought out.
4. Honesty And Accepting Weaknesses:
Accept that you have weaknesses; be honest while
highlighting your achievements, previous salary
or reasons for quitting the previous job. You
can and should project honesty and personal
accountability as your best traits, particularly
if you have already established that your skills
and other abilities fit what the employer is
looking for.
5. Be Specific: Answering the "Tell us
about yourself" question should be about your
career achievements and goals. In this respect,
you need to answer specifically without getting
into personal points of your life. The same goes
when explaining how you handle particular tasks.
The point of contention is how focused you are
and how effectively you can employ this tactic.
The key to a successful job interview is to be
prepared and be yourself. That said, you can't
let your guard down so much that you start
revealing information that was not asked. Stick
to the questions, and follow the tips above to
nail your next interview. |
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