Whether you have applied for an internship or for a job of your dream, it is most likely you will have to do an interview. As daunting or scary interviews can be, here are a few tips and tricks that will help you smash that interview and get the job.
Often time spend a lot of time tinkering our CVs, looking for the best job / work placement options, writing the best possible cover letter and that is amazing as you need to have a good CV and Cover letter to land the interview in the first place but often times even the most impressive candidates will not get selected if they do not do well during the interview process.
1. PREPARE! PREPARE! PREPARE
So first and foremost, our advice to you is called preparation. Before you go to the interview research the company out, study their website, learn about their ethos and values. Look up their LinkedIn page, Glassdoor, find any and every information you can find about the company.
Not only preparation will make you feel more confident and at ease, but it will also show the interviewer that you are “in it to win it”
2. Dress to impress
It’s an interview cliché to be sharp-suited, clean pressed shirt and shiny shoes. However, we think old-school rules still apply here. First impressions are strong, difficult to change and are strongly based around visual aspects. How you present is viewed as a reflection (rightly or wrongly) of how seriously you are taking the application and how much respect you are giving the appointment.
We would say that while you can mess up by under-dressing for an interview, you can never really fail by over-dressing. So feel free to try and mirror company’s culture to an extent.
3. Be Yourself
When going for an interview everyone gets butterflies in their stomach, it is such a nerve wrecking feeling and it is normal, try to remain calm, and be natural. Do not forget the people interviewing are only human, just try to be yourself, try to have a conversation instead of a typical question and answer. If you do get nervous – don’t worry, be honest and tell them you are nervous.
Be specific, this will apply to many areas of the interview, but particularly in terms of duties, responsibilities and achievements. Being specific and where appropriate using quantifiable examples moves you from making general claims about your suitability to giving evidence that you are the best candidate.
4. Sell yourself
When preparing for the interview try to write down all the reasons why you would be a great addition to that company, think of your qualities and experience. When asked a question “Why should we hire you?”, prepare all the valid personal reasons why this job is a great match for you in order to demonstrate an authentic win-win. Why are you passionate about the industry, what do you like about the company, what attracts you to the job, are the location and salary going to satisfy you long term?
5. Ask Questions
Often in interviews we do not ask enough questions, again as mentioned before, think of the interview as a conversation, and let it flow, if a question comes up, do not hesitate to ask it. Interviews like to be engaged rather than to have a one-way dialogue. This makes you come across a not more natural and will immediately build a rapport with the person in front of you.
Try and ask details about the job with a question like: “How would you describe a typical day at the office?”. Not only will this give you more information about the job itself, but makes you look more engaged.
At the end of the day we feel interviews are a great learning experience, there is never a right or wrong answer. Once you had your first interview, the others are not that scary. Follow these tips, do not be nervous and you will nail that interview with the company of your dreams!