These 6 interview tips will keep you ahead of your competition:
Tip #1: Make sure to do research in advance
Researching the company and the interviewers might seem like an obvious advice, but many candidates I come across only briefly look at the company’s website. Ideally you want to go to the interview having some information they don’t expect you to have. You’ll be so much more impressive if you can refer to some press releases or case studies you’ve read, quote statistics or if you’ve used their product.
Check out the company’s financials, look at Glassdoor for comments by current or former employees; find out who the executives are and who the main competitors are.
If you’re applying to work in startup companies, make sure you know how much money they’ve raised so far, who the VC investor is and so on.
Tip #2: Visualize and practice in advance
Visualize the successful outcome of the interview, especially if you’re someone who gets nervous before interviews. For a few days in advance, perhaps just before you go to sleep, imagine how you’re walking into the interview room, answering interview questions effortlessly and how confident you’ll feel that you’ve done the best job you could. Practice answers to all the common general and competency based interview questions in advance.
The more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll feel. Mock interviews will help you in preparing impressive interview examples and help with nerves as well.
Tip #3: Practice for competency based interview questions
Prepare your answers to common interview questions e.g. “Tell me about yourself” or “Why should we hire you?
Smooth delivery of answers shows that you’re a subject matter expert and allows for good rapport to develop.
Interviewers will often ask tough questions to judge if you have the right expertise to do the job and to see how you cope under pressure. They might ask you about the difficult problems you’ve solved, challenges of dealing with a co-worker, examples you’ve influenced others or led a team.
Remember to use STAR technique when answering competency-based questions and use specific examples to back up your statements. Use numbers to demonstrate your skills and expertise. If you can prove you’ve increased revenue, saved time, money and so on, this is likely to impress the interviewer. Have your numbers ready before your interview.
Tip #4: Ask questions at the end of the interview
It is very important you also have some questions to ask at the end of the interview. If you don’t – the interviewer might assume you’re just not that interested in the job. Examples of questions to ask the interviewer include:
What’s a typical day for someone in this role?
What would you expect me to achieve in the first six months?
What are the main priorities/challenges of the job?
Where do you see the company in five years?
How would you measure performance in this role?
Tip #5: Demonstrate your soft skills in an interview
People hire people they like, so prove to them that you have excellent communication skills, you know how to deal with people, solve problems and so on.
Your body language is also incredibly important. Remember about a firm handshake, keep eye contact, show assertiveness by sitting up straight and leaning slightly forward in your chair. If you’re being interviewed by a panel, look at each interviewer, but address your answer primarily to the person asking you a question.
I’d recommend always following up an interview within 24 hours. Email each interviewer or even send a written thank-you card to thank them for their time and re-iterate your interest in the opportunity. Emphasize briefly what you can bring to the job - you might want to refer to something discussed in the interview that answers the interviewer’s hot button area.
Most people find interviews a bit stressful but positive mindset and proper pre-interview preparation will significantly boost your interview success. Good luck!
In my FREE 3-day e-course ‘How to win at job interviews,’ I will show you exactly how to prepare and practice you answers, and give you examples of questions you might expect. There’s also a lot more useful information to help you get that dream job. Sign up for free hereDisclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.Photo Credit: Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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