Jun, 2012

Two Easy Ways to Prepare for an Interview

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 You sent your resume to countless companies. After weeks of waiting, you finally get a call. Now, it’s up to you to dazzle the interviewer and get hired.

It’s no secret that preparation is crucial to acing an interview. Yet it’s funny how people neglect preparation and wonder why they don’t get hired.

Getting an interview is the easy part. Impressing and making an interviewer believe you’re the best person for the job is the hard part. But don’t fret—you can make the hard part easy. How? The answer is properly preparing for an interview.

Preparing for an interview takes time. You need to put in the time and effort to make sure everything goes  right for you on your big day.

Learn About the Job

A big part of getting an interview right is learning about the job. Read the job description, and know the specifics of the job. Before your interview, you need to know the position well. By learning the about position you are applying for, you will be able to analyze which set of skills, experiences, and personality they are looking for. Use this information to put yourself in a better position to present yourself as the best candidate. You will then be able to know what types of questions you may be asked during the interview.

In learning the job, you also have to learn everything you can about the company. Do research on the company. Find out the kind of working environment they have, the products or services they offer, who their target market is, and so on. As you learn this information, you’ll be able to prepare questions for your interviewer ahead of time. By taking the time to learn about the company, this will show the interviewer that you really are interested in the job.

Researching the company will also help you know what to wear during the interview. Dressing appropriately is important because this affects an interviewer’s impression of you.

In addition, doing your research will help you know the location of the company. Do not be overconfident—take time visit the company beforehand in order to avoid being late. This will help you forecast the travel time and will help you arrive early for the interview.

Review Yourself

Resumes are a critical element in an interview. It should convey your skills, experiences, and accomplishments. You need to review your resume. Structure the resume so that it showcases the skills required for the job. A critical eye is needed when you review your resume. Make sure that your resume is entirely error-free.

It is also important to understand your skill set. You need to think about which of your skills you should focus on in your interview responses. Try to remember situations in which you were able to use your skills. These stories will be useful during the interview when you want to prove to your interviewer that you have the skills needed for the job.

As you review your resume and your skills and experience, you will also need to practice your answers. Practicing your answers can build confidence and will help you structure your answers better.

Preparation for an interview will help you land the job you desire. Take time in preparing for your next interview. With the right preparation, you can show up to the interview ready to ace it and get hired.

Read 20461 times Last modified on Thursday, 26 July 2012 02:25
Alan Carniol

Alan is the creator of Interview Success Formula, a training program that has helped more than 80,000 job seekers to ace their interviews and land the jobs they deserve. Interviewers love asking curveball questions to weed out job seekers. But the truth is, most of these questions are asking about a few key areas. Learn more about how to outsmart tough interviewers by watching this video.