The short time you spend in a job interview could have a dramatic effect on your career prospects. It is therefore important that you perform well because no matter how good your career record is, the employment interview remains an important step toward fulfillment of your ambitions. These hints will equip you with valuable information on how to conduct yourself during interviews with prospective employers.
Be Prepared to Answer Questions like:
- Why did you choose this particular role? What do you really want to do in your next career move?
- Why would you like to work for our organization?
- What do you want to be doing in you career five years from now? Why?
- What was the size of your last salary review/bonus?
- What style of management gets the best from you?
- What interests you about our products or services?
- Can you get recommendations from previous employers? What would they say about you?
- What have you learned from some of the jobs you have held? Which did you enjoy most? Why?
- What have you done that shows initiative in your career?
- What is your major weakness? What have you done about it?
- What do you think determines a person’s progress in a good company?
- Are you willing to relocate?
- How do you spend your spare time? What are your hobbies?
- What does “teamwork” mean to you?
- What type of books do you read? What was the last one?
Negative Factors to Watch:
During the course of an interview, the employer will be evaluating your negative factors as well as your positive attributes. Listed below are negative factors frequently evaluated during the course of an interview and those that most often lead to rejection.
- Poor personal appearance.
- Overbearing or overly aggressive; a conceited “superiority complex” and “know-it-all” attitude.
- Inability to express thoughts clearly, poor diction or grammar.
- Lack of planning for career – no purpose or goals.
- Lack of interest and enthusiasm – passive and indifferent.
- Lack of confidence – nervousness.
- Over-emphasis on money.
- Evasive – makes excuses for unfavorable factors in record.
- Lack of tact, maturity, or courtesy.
- Condemnation of past employers.
- Failure to look the interviewer in the eye.
- Limp, fishy handshake. (Tip: If you’re nervous, use antiperspirant on the palm of your hand!)
- Lack of appreciation of the value of experience.
- Failure to ask good questions about the job and the company. This is most important.
- Persistent attitude of “What can you do for me?”
Preparation for the Interview:
You are being interviewed because the interviewer wants to hire somebody — not because they want to trip you up or embarrass you. Through the interaction that will take place during the interview, they will be searching out your strong and weak points, evaluating you on your qualifications, skills, and intellectual qualities, and they will probably probe deeply to determine your attitudes, aptitudes, stability, motivation, and maturity.
Preparation is the first essential step towards a successful interview. Company interviewers are continually amazed at the number of applicants who drift into their offices without any apparent preparation and only a vague idea of what they are going to say. It is important to:
- Know the exact place and time of the interview, the interviewer’s full name (including correct pronunciation), and their title.
- Find out specific facts about the company; where its plants, offices, or stores are located; what its products and services are; what its growth has been; and what its growth potential is for the future. There are a number of online resources providing this kind of information. Refresh your memory on the facts and figures of your former (or present) employer. While you will be expected to know a lot about a company that you have previously worked for, privacy is important, so be careful about the kind and amount of information you reveal.
- Prepare the questions you will ask during the interview. Remember that an interview is a two-way street. The employer will try to determine through questioning if you have the qualifications necessary to do the job. In turn, you must determine, through questioning, whether the company will give you the opportunity for the growth and development you seek.
Topics you might discuss:
- Detailed description of the position
- Reason the position is available
- Culture of the company
- The type of person that has done well
- Advanced training programs available for those who demonstrate outstanding ability
- Company growth plans and best-selling products or services
- The next step in the hiring process
Dress conservatively and preferably in darker colors. Pay attention to all facets of your dress and grooming.
Take several good copies of your resume to leave with the hiring authority.
Compose a thank-you letter after the interview and mail it that day. Make reference to something discussed in the interview to personalize your letter.
Closing the interview and some “dos” and “don’ts” concerning the interview:
- If you are interested in the position, ask for it. Ask for the next interview if the situation demands. If they offer the position to you (and you want it), we suggest you accept on the spot. However, if you need some time to think it over, be courteous and tactful in asking for that time. Set a definite date when you can provide an answer.
- Don’t be too discouraged if no definite offer is made or specific salary discussed. The interviewer will probably want to communicate with their office first or interview more applicants before making a decision.
- If you get the impression that the interview is not going well and that you have already been rejected, don’t let your discouragement show. Once in a while an interviewer who is genuinely interested in your possibilities may seem to discourage you in order to test your reaction.
- Thank the interviewer for their time and consideration of you. If you have answered the two questions uppermost in their mind:
- Why are you interested in the job and the company?
- What can you offer and can you do the job?
- Why are you interested in the job and the company?
Then you have done all you can.
Last, and most important, if working with a recruiter, call the consultant at the recruiting agency who referred you to the position immediately after the interview and explain what happened. They will want to talk with you before the interviewer calls them back. If you are interested in progressing further it will assist if your feelings toward the position are known, together with your perception of what the client’s reaction is likely to be.
