A lot of meritorious profiles don’t score a job because of poor interview skills. Having the right skill set is one thing; ensuring that your competence is thoroughly communicated to the interviewer is a whole different ball game.
This article is addressed to those who are struggling with their interview skills. Note that you just need to take the interview with the right strategy and your probability of getting the job will become higher.
You’ll surely find a tip or two that can help you approach the interviews better. In the end, it’s just about the techniques that you apply in the interview rooms that’ll land you a job. So let’s jump right at it and see some techniques that can help you land a decent job:
Walk-in Prepared
This is an obvious one that so many candidates miss out on. Always walk into the room with some preparation. It is a myth that interviews can only have random questions and that you’ll need to be spontaneous. While it is true that interviews aren’t scripted, there surely are many standard questions that have a high chance of popping up. For instance, questions like ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years?’ or “why did you chose this field of study” or the interviewers’ go-to question, “tell us a little bit about yourself” have a high chance of making an appearance in your interviews. In these situations, it is handy to come in with an already-prepared answer that will impress the people on the other side of the table.
It is also important to increase your knowledge of the company that you are going to interview for, this does mean that are expected to know everything about the company but the having researched on its main functions and area of expertise gives you an advantage over the impression the interview will take from the conversation. Do not make the mistake of walking into the interview completely unaware of the organization, the most basic set of details you can have is knowing what they do or what they sell.
Mind Map: What you’ll Say.
Interviews are mostly about judging the competence of a candidate and seeing whether they’ll be the right fit for the company. If you are someone that doesn’t clearly state their offerings to the company, then your chances of scoring the job will be bleak.
Before you enter the room, list down the points roughly about what you’ll say inside. Make points about how the company will benefit by hiring you. This will make you confident inside the room. Plus, knowing what you bring to the table also increases your negotiation power, putting you in a better position to negotiate numbers and other factors relating to the job.
Take notes for questions
When the interviewer asks if you have any questions for them, that’s the opportunity for you to cash in. That’s where you can learn better about who you will work with. Don’t turn down that opportunity by saying ‘no, thank you.’ Have questions ready before you walk into the interview and make sure to write down any and all questions to ask them in the end.
Practice
Once you have the necessary preparation done, you should get to practice it. If the tone is where you struggle, then practice the right tone. If fluency of thoughts is your weak area, then work on that. Just know that you should practice and be prepared before going into the room.
A well-rehearsed candidate is always fun to interview compared to someone who is trying to figure out their life in the interview room.
Work on your body language
A lot of interviewers can determine the chances of you scoring the job the moment you step into the room. Make sure you have the right body language while sitting for the interview. You just want to come off as a relaxed and confident candidate. Anything other than this isn’t appreciated or noted much.
As mentioned above, interviews are about communicating to the panel what you bring to the company. If you can get that done with the right attitude, then there’s very little that stands between you and the job. Now that you know the right techniques for a brilliant interview, all that’s left is for you to use them and step into the room with confidence. That’ll hopefully sign you up for the job!
