| |
| |
|
Careers & Employment Information |
|
|
|
The Secrets to Interview Success
Many well qualified and extremely able candidates fail at job interviews simply because they are unaware of the conventions of the job interview and the expectations of the interviewer. Successful candidates, on the other hand, manage to impress prospective employers precisely because they know how to present themselves. Thus, they study the job advertisement; they analyse what is required in the way of skills qualifications and experience; they assess their own suitability for the job; and finally, they present themselves in a thoughtful and carefully prepared manner. Their written applications are comprehensive and business-like, containing all the relevant information presented neatly and concisely.They prepare themselves carefully for interview, anticipating likely questions and rehearsing their responses. They study the structure of the interview and devise a strategy to satisfy the interviewer's requirements. In short, they prepare themselves to succeed. Let us begin by giving some general advice to candidates who are considering the daunting prospect of an interview. As a candidate, you should be able to express yourself with clarity and precision. To do this, you must make adequate preparation, anticipating likely questions and rehearsing your responses. However, this does not mean that you should learn your responses by heart. To do so would make you sound unnatural. Your answers should appear spontaneous. At the same time, you should come across as thoughtful, articulate and coherent. So preparation is essential. During the interview you should speak confidently, making sure to support your answers with relevant examples from your work experience. Sometimes the questions might not be wide-ranging enough to enable you to present your case as fully and convincingly as you would wish. In such circumstances, it is up to you to take the initiative and acquaint the interviewer with whatever information you consider to be important in advancing your claims to the job on offer. Remember, it is up to you to sell yourself. Always relate your answers to the job for which you are applying. This is particularly important in the case of candidates who are faced with the sort of indirect questions favoured by many interviewers. For example, the interviewer may ask you to describe your current job. This is an indirect way of asking you to what extent your present skills and experience relate to the job for which you are applying. Always present a positive face. Having studied your application form, interviewers will have identified the weaker aspects of your case. They will often use such material to build up a negative impression of you. So it is in your own best interests to examine your application critically with a view to identifying any weaknesses or negative aspects which the interviewer might spot. Having identified such negative aspects, you should be ready to answer tricky questions by preparing positive answers. Since interviewers are looking for candidates who display a positive attitude, you should state that you enjoy your job; that you are enthusiastic and ambitious; and that you welcome challenge. It is important to tell the truth in interviews. However, try to present the facts as persuasively as you can. It would be pointless and self-defeating to reveal negative facts which are largely irrelevant and which only serve to highlight weaknesses in your case. So examine and assess your own case and tailor the facts to give the best and most positive impression. It is essential to develop a rapport with the interviewer. If you can give the impression that you are in agreement or have something in common with the interviewer and if the interviewer takes a liking to you, you are off to a great start. So be pleasant and agreeable. On the other hand, it would be a grave mistake to appear as a grovelling 'yes' man or woman. Discretion should be your watch-word in this as in other areas. Interviewers usually place a greater emphasis on experience than on paper qualifications, so it is up to you to convince them that your experience qualifies you for the job on offer. This will involve using your experience as evidence to support statements that you make in answers to questions. Now to sum up: here are the success secrets known understood and applied by thousands of successful job interviewees. 1. Make adequate preparation to enable you to express yourself fluently in the interview situation. 2. Be confident but try not to sound conceited: use examples to support your answers. 3. Make sure to acquaint the interviewer with all the relevant information in support of your case. 4. Relate all your answers to the job for which you are applying. 5. Look out for indirect questions and know how to cope with them. 6. Concentrate on the positive aspects of your case and be ready to deal with questions relating to any negative aspects. 7. Do not tell lies but tailor the truth in order to present a positive impression of yourself. 8. Determine to establish a rapport with the interviewer right from the start. 9. Convince the interviewer that your experience entitles you to the job. Gerard McLoughlin, author of 'Four Minutes To Interview Success', has contributed career-related articles to hundreds of recruitment companies, websites and publications throughout the world, including: USA Today, JobBankUSA.com, US-Recruiters.com, etc. To receive FREE career tips on a regular basis, sign up today for The Assignments Plus Newsletter.
MORE RESOURCES:
Employment - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Answer The Most Difficult Interview Questions The following 'difficult' questions are common to most tricky or adversarial interviews. In order to convince the interviewer that you are the best person for the job, you must prepare and rehearse your answers meticulously. Have You Given Up On Yourself? Have you given up on yourself? Have you decided to take the easy road and coast for the rest of your life? Have you come to the decision that you have done all you could possibly be expected to do in your life now it is someone else's turn? As you get older you may not be able to run as fast, swim as far, hit the ball as hard or even concentrate as long as you used to but is that the reason to give up? Surely your aim should be to be the best you can at whatever age you are."Navratilova wants to be as good a player as she can possibly be at the age of 47, just as she wanted to be the best she could possibly be at 19, at 25, at 35". Ten Courses Of Study If You Want To Be Your Own Boss For many Americans, an important component of the American Dream is the possibility of hard work turning into financial fortune. The career exploits of such self made magnates like Andrew Carnegie, Lee Iaccoca and Donald Trump are examples for many. Benefits of Maintaining a Career Portfolio Have you ever tried to contact a past employer only to discover they are no longer in existence or your former manager has moved on and been replaced by someone else? Of course, if you are an avid networker this shouldn't be much of a problem when it comes time to provide proof of your experience, education and accomplishments. A portfolio of your career should be developed and maintained using all documentation of your career history in order to overcome any problems that could arise in proving any aspects of your career. Job Search Campaign Tip: An Activity Diary Looking for a job involves a wide range of responsibilities: preparing a resume, looking at ads, contacting employers, calling and visiting friends and acquaintances, follow ups, interviews. While none of us ever plan to be out of work for very long, it can be very useful to immediately start documenting your activities and your feelings to provide a road map of where you have been and where you want to go. Crafting A Stellar Career Summary For Your Resume Are you a career changer? Or, are you satisfied with your stable career but interested in updating your resume? Are you a professional who has tried different things but are still searching for the kind of work that best suits you? Whatever your career situation, what your resume most needs is a stellar career summary. What difference can a career summary make for you? Here are 4 reasons why you need one in your resume: 1. How to Improve Your Work Situation buWhy are so many people unhappy in their work situation? Why do people, who are successful at one career, have such difficult times coping with their new career? These problems frequently occur, because conflicts exist in their work relationships.Relationships between you and your work can also be considered the "games of work. Theres No Need to Pad Your Resume It seems like a good idea, harmless in fact. Your friends assure you that everybody does it and that employers rarely check resume facts. Working with Recruiters: 5 Critical Words for Candidates As professional recruiters working both retained and contingency search assignments, we spend a significant part of our effort preparing both the candidate and the client employer for prospective interviews. Preparing each side to meet and interact removes much of the predisposed tension that is inherent to the interview process on both sides. What Did You Say? My table-mates introduced themselves as the reciprocal protocol began. We chatted about what we did, where we did it and what we thought of the conference. Bringing Our Family to Work Let's face it, most of us consider professional success and personal success the same.In other words we become our careers. Mastering The Lunch Interview Interviews can be nerve-racking, brain-draining, headache-inducing experiences. These days, recruiters have found a way to make the interview even more difficult by combining the experience with a meal. Handing in Your Resignation and Serving Notice Have you made the right choice? Before deciding to resign from your current position and move to a new employer, you should weigh up as objectively as possible all the relevant factors: remuneration, working environment, location, travel demands, training and development opportunities, promotional prospects, and your future bosses.Consider also what impact a job with the new company would have on your resume. How To Establish Trust, Credibility and Enthusiasm To Your Interviewer If you use your voice to get attention, you use your eyes to hold attention. People tend to believe you, trust you, and listen to what you say if you are looking at them. Seven Steps to Making a Successful Career Change My first job was secretary to Moses. Having to transcribe and make 2,430 copies of the Ten Commandments convinced me I was on the wrong career path! OK, maybe I'm not quite THAT old. Yes, Ive Had Gaps In My Employment History--What To Do About It? Yes, I've Had Gaps In My Employment History--What Can I Do About It?1. Honestly, there is not a single person who has not had SOME gaps in their work history. Free Resume Template: What Makes a Good One? You can drown in the "free resume examples," "free resume templates," and "free resume samples" on the web.In my opinion, a single thing makes one free resume template different from another: results. About Your Work I like Simon, one of three judges on American Idol. I find his feedback refreshingly honest. Your Job Search Is A Marketing Campaign (Part 2) Here's a continuation of my article from a few months back on how the successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign.To recap, the same marketing techniques that have sell billions of dollars worth of products and services on TV, in print and via direct mail can also help you find a job. How to Tell if You are Fired and Just Dont Know It No one should be fired and be surprised about it. There are always warning signs.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
