A confident handshake leaves a lasting impression.
Candidates preparing for job interviews should research the dos and don'ts of formal interviewing. You should prepare for an interview ahead of time by considering essential factors, such as appearance and dress code, as well as how you intend to respond to your interview questions. Thoroughly research the company that you will be interviewing with and ensure that your resume is well tailored to fit the job description that you are seeking.
Interview Questions
A job interview is like a sales call. Interviewees must be effective communicators and demonstrate their candidacy for a job by answering interview questions clearly and persuasively. This requires anticipating different types of questions from an interviewer. Common types of interview questions include behavioral questions, open- or closed-ended questions, and hypothetical or leading questions. Interview candidates should take some time to review and prepare for these styles of interviewing by having responses prepared for each category. "STAR" stands for situation, task, action and result, and it is one approach to answering questions about past experience: describe a situation or task that had to be handled, explain the actions that were taken, and tell what the results were.
Presentation
Your appearance significantly impacts an interview experience. Candidates preparing for an interview should dress with the intention of making a strong impression on the interviewer. Interviewees who do not take appearance into consideration when preparing for a job interview by dressing sloppily or by wearing eccentric clothing may influence an interviewer's impression the wrong way. Short skirts, wild colored nail polish, leather jackets and extreme colored clothing are inappropriate for interviews. Ideal clothing for interviews is business attire, with conservative colors in various shades of blue or gray.
Research
In addition to familiarizing yourself with your own resume, you should take some time to research your prospective employer. Hiring managers appreciate candidates who take the time to read about their company or organization. Having additional information about a company helps to ease the awkward moments of interviewing by providing opportunities to engage in hypothetical questions with job interviewers, which demonstrates a candidate's initiative to learn. By researching a company ahead of time you can tailor your responses to interview questions, making them more suitable to meet the needs of a specific organization.
Considerations
Some of the most insightful moments of an interview are learned through first-hand experience. Learning what takes place during an interview process can be especially useful for future interviews. Another useful strategy for what to expect in a job interview is to role play and consider the interview from the employer's point of view. Following basic interview strategies and preparing well in advance will help to eliminate the unexpected, and makes a difference between getting a job offer or facing rejection.
Tags: interview questions, ahead time, Candidates preparing, preparing interview, should take, should take some
