How to prepare for a Job Interview How to prepare for a Job Interview Preparing for a job interview is really important and can make the difference between getting the job and not getting it. Here is a list of things that you should do before you go to any job interview. 1. Research the company on line. Go to the company website and look around. Try to find out as much as you can about the company and be prepared to talk about it during the interview. It’s good to know things like the company’s stock price, the future plans and goals of the company, as well as any major news that has to do with the company. It’s a good idea to learn things about the company that are interesting to investors. 2. Prepare some quality answers to common questions that employers often ask. Don’t memorize answers or you will sound like a computer, but it’s smart to have a good idea of how you respond to the most common interview questions. I’ve written a separate article about answering common interview questions here. 3. Make a list of intelligent questions that you want to ask the employer. After you have answered the questions from your employer you will have an opportunity to ask some questions. You should take advantage of this by asking intelligent questions to show that you are interested in the position and are an intelligent person. Some good questions to ask: What kind of career growth opportunities will I have here? What kind of training does the company provide? These two questions really show that you are interested in learning more and becoming a major part of the company. Employers want motivated people. **Remember, some of these answers might be found on the company website. If you can find answers to them then a better question would be something like: “I noticed on the website the company provides computer training. Could you tell me a little more about that please?” That question would really show that you already took the time to learn about the company and you are interested in learning. What questions should you NOT ask? Don’t ask about money, vacation time, or anything else that would benefit you only and not the company. You must understand that at this job interview, you are trying to impress the employer. You haven’t been hired yet so there is no reason to be asking about how much money or vacation you will be getting. If the employer calls you back after the interview and decides to hire you, then that is the time to negotiate these details. **Sometimes they will ask you questions about salary during the interview. I’ll explain how to answer those questions in another article. 4. Get a haircut and make sure your clothes are really clean and ironed. It is simply ridiculous to go to an interview not looking your best. In the business world, image counts a lot. People do notice if your clothes are ironed well, if they are really clean, if your shoes are shined and things like that. A good appearance makes people think that you pay attention to detail and put a lot of effort into what you do. That is what employers want. Take a look at this article on “how to dress for a job interview” for more details. 5. Know the location of the job interview in advance and figure out how long it takes to get there. Make sure you get to the job interview 15 to 20 minutes early. Being late for an interview is really bad. NO EXCUSES! How to behave properly during a job interview. I admit that this topic seems pretty funny and most of you are probably thinking that you know how to behave quite well. It’s still a good idea to read through this list to make sure that you don’t make any mistakes. Don’t chew gum -It looks very unprofessional to be chewing gum. I’ve you are worried about having bad breath, suck on some strong mints before you go in. Also, don’t take any food into the interview, even if you aren’t planning on eating it there. Don’t smoke -This should be obvious that you wouldn’t smoke during a job interview. If you do smoke, make sure that you don’t smell like it when you go inside. Turn your cell phone off -Definitely don’t ever answer your phone during a job interview. Your phone should also be turned off so you don’t hear an embarrassing and distracting ring during the interview. You also should not pick up your phone either to look for messages or send them. Give a firm handshake -It’s important to be able to give a proper handshake. When you shake someone’s hand, make sure it is firm, but do not try to crush the other person’s hand. Make sure you look the other person in the eye and smile while shaking hands. Sit and walk with good posture -It’s important that you sit up straight and stand straight while walking. Move at a fairly quick pace as well. Employers don’t want to see anyone who looks tired and slow. Smile -It’s a fact that smiling makes other people happy and comfortable around you. Make eye contact with the employer -When you are talking, make sure to look the employer in the eyes. It makes you look more confident. Also, when you look someone in the eyes while speaking it makes you look like you are telling the truth. Don’t interrupt -Even if the employer is talking too much, let them finish and don’t try to interrupt them. Simply wait for them to finish and then you will have a chance to say something. Don’t fidget -Don’t play around with your hands or papers or anything. It will make you look nervous. Just try to sit still with good posture and smile. Don’t look around the room -If you are looking around the room and not at the employer, you will seem like you are bored or you are not paying attention. Do you think someone would want to hire you if it seems like your mind is always on other things and can’t listen? Don’t wear too much make-up -For a female, wearing make-up is ok but do it in good taste. Don’t wear too much. Don’t wear too much jewelry -For women, watch, ring, and earrings are ok. For men, watch and ring is ok. Cover up any tattoos if you have them -If you have any tattoos it’s a good idea to cover them up. Make sure you are very well groomed -Obviously you want to look clean, but make sure your hair looks good, you’ve cut your fingernails well, and paid extra attention to your grooming. Being neat and groomed is important for the company image. Even if you were very smart and good at what you do, companies don’t want people who are going to embarrass them by not looking their best. How to answer questions during a job interview When you are answering questions during a job interview, it is very important to remember a few key ideas. You don’t always know exactly what the questions will be, but there are some things you should keep in mind for any questions that might come up. Always try to answer the questions in a way that make you look like a good fit for the job. Remember that you are trying to get the job. Don’t lie about anything but make sure you choose your answers wisely. Think about what kinds of answers are true for you and also make you look capable for this job. It’s ok to take a moment to think before your answer If you take a moment to collect your thoughts it shows that you are really trying to answer well. Don’t take too much time of course but a little time is fine. Also, make sure you answer questions. Don’t say something like, I don’t know, I’ve never thought of that before and leave it at that. You need to come up with some kind of answer for everything. Answer clearly and concisely. Don’t ramble on with long answers. Make sure you answer clearly in sentences. Don’t just say yes or no. Don’t talk for too long either. If you keep talking, it shows that you are not very good at expressing yourself and it also shows that you are not very respectful of the interviewers time. Make sure you are answering the right question. It’s ok to ask for clarification of a question if you don’t understand. It shows you are careful. It’s better to ask a second time what the interviewer asked than it is to answer a totally different question. Don’t talk about personal problems during an interview This is not the time to talk about your personal problems. The interviewer will not feel sorry for you and give you the job because you have a hard life. They want someone who can do the job. Don’t talk about salary or holidays during an interview The interview is not the time to be negotiating salary or talking about holidays. It is your job to show the interviewer what you can do for the company. If you get offered a job, you can talk about what the company can do for you. Never say anything bad about anyone, especially previous employers and coworkers It looks horrible to say bad things about other people during a job interview. Its extremely unprofessional. Don’t say anything very controversial The last thing you would want to do is to say something offensive, or some strong opinion that many people disagree with. You might have the interviewer judge you very harshly if he or she happens to disagree with your view. Its safer not to talk about your personal views too much. Typical job interview questions and answers · Tell me about yourself (try to hold your response to 2 minutes) This is often the first thing an employer will say to you. It’s an opportunity to give a brief summary of what you’ve been doing recently, what your interests are, and what type of person you are. You should keep your response under 2 minutes. You can choose how you want to answer this question so make sure you choose wisely and talk about your good qualities that would be good for the job. It’s good to mention your interests and your goals. You should always be trying to answer in a way that somehow would make you look good for the job. For example, if you love to exercise, mention that because a healthy person should be a better worker. If you love to go to the bar, say you like meeting new people, don’t say you like to drink. Always answer with the positive side of things. Talk about how you love to learn and improve yourself, make it seem like you are interested in many things. Don’t say you like coming home after work and watching TV for hours, even if you do like it. I admit, I like it sometimes. · Why should we hire you? This is another common question that you need to be prepared for. It might be slightly different like, “Why do you think you would be a good employee here?”, or “Why do you think you would be good at this job?” These questions are essentially the same. When you answer this question you want to tell them what your strengths are and how they relate to the job. Think about this question before you go to the interview. This is your chance to show why you can do this job well. If you are going to be a sales person, think of some good characteristics that you have that relate to being a salesperson. You can show your selling capabilities even if you have no sales experience. Are you outgoing? Do you like meeting new people? Are you very persuasive? Then, if you say you like meeting new people for example, think of a real life example that shows this. Maybe you joined a local chamber of commerce recently. You also want to mention some of your accomplishments in past jobs in past jobs or other areas of life. If you can, try to use real numbers. It’s better to say something like, “In my last sales job, I exceeded my targets by over 30% every time and I was the highest in sales for 3 different months” than to say something like, “In my last sales job, I was able to sell a lot of stuff and people always told me they thought I was good at it”. Specific is much better. · Why do you want this job? Interviewers love to ask this question because they want to see if you truly are interested in accepting the job. Many people go to job interviews knowing that even if they are offered the job, they won’t take it. They are also hoping to see that the job position challenges you and interests you. Talk about your motivation and what excites you to perform really well. People who like what they do work harder. Don’t say something like, “it’s an easy job and I’m lazy”. Or, “the money is really good and I want to buy a house”. Tell them what interests you about the actual job. · Why did you leave your last job? An interviewer would like to know this because they are hoping to find someone who would only leave for a good reason. They don’t want to hire someone who might quit really soon. A good answer to this question would be something like, “Well, it was a really tough decision for me to leave my last job, but I realized that it was no longer challenging me and there was no room in that company to move up. I really enjoy challenges and improving myself and that job didn’t offer me that anymore”. Never say something bad about your previous boss or other co-workers. Don’t say anything bad about the company either. ·Where do you see yourself in 5 years? This question gives the interviewer to get a feel for what goals you have for yourself. They want to know how motivated you are to improve in the company. They also want to see if you see yourself staying with that company. · What accomplishment are you most proud of? Think of some achievement that demonstrates a skill you have relating to the job. You can choose any achievement here. The important thing is that you are able to show how the achievement will make you a good candidate for the job. If you are most proud that you did well in school and got into a top university, be able to explain how that is useful. For example, you might say something like you set a goal to get into a certain university, you made a detailed plan for how you were going to achieve that goal and finally you achieved it. It was the first time in your life you realized that you could do anything you set your mind to and you’ve been setting goals and achieving them in many areas of your life ever since. · Can you work well under deadlines or pressure? You must somehow show that you will be able to work in all situations. It’s good to say that you work well under pressure. If you really don’t, then you might say something like you don’t perform your best under pressure, that’s why you are extremely organized and get all your work done much sooner than it is needed. · Would you be willing to take some additional courses to advance your career? If they ask you this question they are certainly hoping that you will say yes. If you say no, you’d better come up with some good reason why not. I can’t think of a good one though. · What are your career goals? Here you should talk about your future with the company and how you plan on always improving. Even if you want to stay in the same position forever, explain how you will keep improving at it. · What are your strong points? This is where you need to talk about what you are good at. Again, you need to pick things that you will be able to show how they relate to the new job. · What are your weak points? You need to be prepared for this question. You must answer it. Everyone has weaknesses. The key here is to pick weaknesses that can also be seen as strengths. Also, be able to explain what you are doing to overcome your weaknesses. It would be good to say that you are sometimes too stressed because you put too much pressure on yourself to succeed. You have been trying to relax more by taking yoga classes. That weakness looks ok because it shows that you like to work hard. Don’t say, my weakness is being lazy. · Are you willing to travel or relocate? You should think about this question before you go in. Obviously they are hoping you say yes if they ask it, but don’t lie. You could ask how much would be required, or explain that you have a family and would prefer not to travel too much. Don’t simply say no though. . How to prepare for a Job Interview How to prepare for a Job Interview Preparing for a job interview is really important and can make the difference between getting the job and not getting. attention to detail and put a lot of effort into what you do. That is what employers want. Take a look at this article on how to dress for a job interview for more details. 5. Know the location. negotiating salary or talking about holidays. It is your job to show the interviewer what you can do for the company. If you get offered a job, you can talk about what the company can do for you.