10 Top Job Interview TipsGet the Job You WantJob interview tips from a career coach and interviewer for large companies. I’m not going to waste your time with the obvious. You will know what to wear, and that appearance is important. The interview advice and help you'll find here is based on the things you probably don’t know. The things that stand out to interviewers, like me, but candidates aren’t aware of them. For anyone preparing for interviewThe job interview help is for anyone preparing for a job interview. This job interview advice will stop you making common mistakes and give you tips on answering interview questions.The aim is for you to present what you can offer an employer in the best posible way. Inside informationUsing my experience as a career coach and interviewer for large corporate companies, you will be getting inside information from the other side of the interview desk.Job interviews can be life changing. You’re going for the job because it benefits you. Invest some time in reading these job interview tips and then see what you can do to improve your chances of getting the job you want. 10 Top interview tipsConsider these job interview tips and the impact they will have on the interviewer, and the interviewers impression of you.1. Prepare for that life changing interviewGetting the job you want can change your life.It can dramatically increase your income and give you a greater lifestyle. Get the job you want and you could gain the benefits of job satisfaction, and actually be happy at work. When a candidate hasn’t prepared for their interview it shows in the first minutes. Job interview tips: Prepare well for your interview What I don’t want to see in an interview is a candidate struggling to answer basic questions that they should have expected and prepared for. You will not know the exact wording of the interview questions you will be asked. But you can predict 90% of the topics the questions will be about. Prepare how you will present your evidence that you can meet the requirements of the role. For more on preparing for interview open Job Interviews in a new window then come back here for more job interview tips.
You’re nervous, want to appear eager to get the job, and you’re focused on the interviewer and their questions. The interviewer asks you a question and you blurt out the first answer you think of with no gap in the conversation.
I see this happen regular in the interviews I hold around the country. As soon as I have finished the question the candidate instantly replies. Job interview tips : Take a breath before you answer. Take a breath while you allow at least 3 seconds to pass before you answer. Use the time to consider if you’re presenting the best possible answer to the interviewer. The interviewer will see you considering the question and putting thought into the answer. You will be perceived as confident and in control. These job interview tips will have a big positive impact on the image you project at interview.
The interviewer asks you a question related to how you can meet the requirements of the role. You answer the question by telling them about your experience or skills.
Many candidates start with an example and then add another one,...and another, ..then another.... They go for quantity instead of quality. What the interviewer hears is brief bits of information about each piece of evidence that's being presented. Job interview tips: Present one really convincing example Choose one strong example to present as your answer. Give a complete answer with all the relevant details to show how this example is good evidence of the attributes you can offer the employer. In most cases the interviewer will be making notes on the interview and recalling the meeting with you later when they make the decision. Make it easy for them. Present one piece of evidence slowly and clearly There’s a great way to prepare for interview.
The decision on which candidate gets the job is usually made some time after the interview.
After a full day of interviewing, candidates can start to blur into one another. The interviewer then depends on the notes they have made and how those notes help them recall the candidate. Job interview tips: Make sure they can remember you. Leave something with the interviewer that will make it easy for them to recall you, and your interview. A good example of this would be a carefully prepared folder containing your information. I recently interviewed a young woman for a sales vacancy. As we discussed her achievements and sales track record, she passed me an information file bound in a folder. It contained her CV and contact details. A brief summary of her achievements. Copies of letters from customers praising her customer service skills. Copies of her pay slips supporting her sales track record with commission payments. And on the front was a small photograph of her. When I got together with colleagues later to discuss her application I had everything I needed to recall her and what she could offer the company. She made herself stand out from the other candidates.
This next job interview tip should be easy for anyone with a sales background. And anyone else can soon pick it up and use it as a great job interview help.
Job interview tips: Tell them what you can do for them. Tell the interviewer what you can do for them. Not just what you can do. It’s the same as selling the benefits of a product not just its features. When you present a qualification, tell the interviewer what that can do for them. How it benefits the employer. If you have a skill, give an example of how the company will benefit from that skill if they employ you. Answering an interview question with a long list of your experiences does nothing for the employer. They want to know how those skills help them. this is even more important for anyone applying for a sales job. The interview is a sales pitch and the product is you. For some great help on sales training and job interviews take a look in The Shop.
The interviewer is assessing you as a person. From the moment you walk in they are forming an opinion of you.
Job interview tips: Make sure they see you as a positive person. A really important piece of job interview advice, don’t bad mouth your previous employers. In fact don’t be negative about anything. If you're leaving your current job for negative reasons, turn it into a positive. Instead of, Sales targets were too high. Say, I’m looking for a company that supports its sales force to achieve targets. Every negative can be turned into a positive. You do not want a potential employer to see you as a negative moaner. Even if what you are moaning about is true. Turn it into a positive. This is a golden piece of job interview advice. No one likes a negative person. Make sure you are positive and constructive throughout your interview.
An experienced interviewer will see through anything less than the truth.
I will often ask the same interview question in several different ways during the interview. It shows me if the answers are consistent. Answers will often contradict each other if they are not based on truth. Job interview tips: Base all your answers on facts You can put different spins or viewpoints on an answer, but always base it on facts. Once you have told a lie you will have to tell more lies to cover it up. It takes great skill to give consistent false information in a stressful situation. A good interviewer will quickly see the inconsistencies. When you are preparing for your interview ...that’s No1 in the job interview tips... prepare for answering interview questions on the weak areas of your experience. Look at the job requirements you don’t meet and prepare good answers that show how you will become competent at this part of the job, rather than lie about your experience.
All interviews are a two way process.
Don’t just sit there answering interview questions. Make it a conversation. Gather information. You may have to make a decision based on this job interview. Job interview tips: Interview the interviewer If you're offered the role you will have to make a decision on whether you accept it. To do this you must gather information about the job and the company, and what’s expected of you. Job candidates that are already in a job, or are offered more than one position, have to be able to compare the roles and assess the best action. It’s a massive decision. Your future career, your income, and how you spend around 40 hours a week can depend on this decision. As the interviewer moves the meeting through the different topics related to the role engage them in a two-way conversation.
It is usual, at the end of an interview, for the employer to ask if the job candidate has any questions.
Job interview tips: Always have some questions to ask. Asking questions shows: You are interested in the role Have some questions prepared. Write them down and take them in with you. Do not say, No you have answered everything. The interviewer will have heard this many times already and you want to stand out from the other candidates. Asking good questions will help you do that. Ask how you will be assessed. What would you have to achieve in the first 3 months for the employer to see you as successful and their decision to employ you as a good one? Future prospects. Why the job has become available. Ongoing training. Company plans. The biggest challenges. Additional or secondary skills that could be useful. Could you see where you will be working. How about talking to some of the staff
How do you finish the interview?
In a traditional job interview format, the interview finishes after you have asked your interview questions. So when you have asked your last question it’s up to you to make a final comment. Job interview tips: Prepare a final comment. It doesn’t have to be a long speech. Just a couple of sentences. Indicate that you have no more question, and leave the interviewer with a positive impression of you that they will remember. In your own words tell them, you have all the information you require, you want the job, and give them a final positive statement that tells the interviewer what you can do for them.
That’s 10 top job interview tips to help you get the job you want.
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