You Got The Interview, Now Don't Fcuk It Up

With the unemployment rate increasing, and jobs becoming harder to secure I decided to put together a guide to polish up those interviewing skills. My feeling is if you do get an interview, you might as well ace it as they are less of them to be had. Even in times of low unemployment you should be prepared, so it really holds true now.

Before The Interview

Take some time to establish the purpose of the interview. Try to find out how the interview will be conducted and who you will be meeting with. It is important to get names. Everybody like to hear their name. Remember them so you can use them when meeting with those people. Lean as much about the company or organization as possible. A lot of people don’t really do this well enough. Find out something positive about the company that may not be very well known and bring it up. It will show your interviewer you looked past the first page of the website. Take time to think about the interview and what questions might be asked. Write down the questions with answers that you come up with. This way you can have them ready to study on the day of the interview. Be sure to have an answer to the what is your biggest weakness question. Count on this one being asked I always suggest giving no more than two examples. Use something like I work through my breaks, or I try to be a perfectionist all the time. Something that you can say in a way that won’t hurt your chances or be viewed as overly negative. Always try to use specific examples in your answers were possible. Prepare a list of questions to ask. There is nothing worse than not having questions for a interviewer. Stay away from questions around benefits and vacation time. Keep your questions work related. One of your last questions could be if you can speak with a rep from the benefits dept. Also don’t bring up the subject of salary . Practice interviewing with someone. Visualize yourself in the interview. See it going exactly how you want it to go. See yourself giving all the right answers and making excellent points. Believe that how you intend the interview to go is how it will.

Obviously do not be late for the interview. A big reason people are late is because of lack of planning. This includes when you schedule the interview and how you plan to get there. Make sure you know how long it will take to get there under bad conditions. Doing this should ensure you get there on time.

First impressions are everything. Make sure you dress appropriately for your interview. A plain business suit is what I recommend. You can use the shirt and tie or blouse to add color and show a little of your personality. Men should never wear jewelry. A wedding ring of course is fine and a watch, but that’s it. Women should us jewelry to accessorize. Such as pearls or a broach. Make sure you are well groomed and smell clean. Be sure to have extra copies of your resume and references.

All Through The Interview

Remember to use the plan you spent time preparing during your interview. When meeting you interviewer, smile and give a firm handshake. Make sure your on top of your courtesy game. Listen to what the interviewer is saying and the questions being asked. When listening nod and say “uh huh” when appropriate. Try to maintain eye contact. When someone is speaking, look at that person. This indicates that you are listening. When you are speaking vary your eye contact and speak with clarity. Interview the interviewer. You need them but they need you. Take the time to make sure this is the job you want. You should have addressed before the interview why you are there, now make sure the job is what you think it is. You can end up with a job you don’t want by not asking the questions you need to. Doing this decreases the chances there will be surprises once your officially on the job. Don’t say anything negative about your current or previous employer. This is like the what is your weakness question. If it comes up, you must put a positive spin on it. Don’t talk about your personal life. You do not want someone making any false judgments about you base on personal information such as, if your married or how may kids you have. Most seasoned interviewers will stay away from asking these types of questions. Be flexible and appear willing to make compromises. Always be yourself . Don’t try to be something your not as you may come across as fake. Be sure to get contact information like a business card or email address so you can follow up with them in the future.

After The Interview

As soon as you get home, take some time to think about the interview. Think about what you believe you did well and what you think you would have done differently. This could be the way you asked or answered questions. The way you acted. Were you nervous, to hyper, to laid back. Maybe all the planning had you overconfident. Write your feelings down so you can use them for the next interview if need be. If you do get an offer write it down with the notes. If you don’t be sure to try and get as much feedback as possible. If you say you want feedback to help you in your next interview, I’m sure you’ll get some helpful tips. Compare them to the notes you took after the interview

Visit one of the job boards like monster.com or hot jobs and find some examples of thank you letters. Find the best one that fits you situation and use it as a guide to draft your own letter to send to your interviewer. I recommend this if you have never sent one before. Its good to see the types of letters they will be receiving from other candidates.

Here is your guide to a better interview. Take it print it out and apply the practices