Interview Questions And Answers Forum

alisiddiqui

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Registered: 2015-02-23

Posts: 949

Important Tips To Prepare For Your First Job Interview

Important Tips To Prepare For Your First Job Interview

Things to do before an interview:
                         You should give yourself plenty of time to research about the role and the organisation, think about you are well experienced, your interests and skills fit the job and the organisation, research about current affairs and trends in your job sector, find out what the prospective employer is actually looking for, anticipate questions you might be asked, then prepare answers to these questions, find out what form the interview will take e.g. single, panel, group etc.[/size]
[size=14]You should also plan the day of the interview, especially your journey with an aim to arrive ten minutes early. Take money in case you need to take a taxi or bus unexpectedly,  carry an A-Z street map or put the postcode of the organisation into Google maps on your mobile to prevent getting lost, decide what you will wear and set it out the night before. Suits and business wear are the best option with comfortable, polished shoes, get an early night, we all perform better when fully awake.

Making a good impression at the interview:
                         As we know that the first expression is the last impression, you should stand out for all the right reasons by ensuring you arrive on time or better still early, are organised. Take your application letter, CV and examples of work with you, listen carefully to questions and answer them concisely,  highlight your best attributes in the interview. Before you go for an interview, think about what you want the interviewer to know about you (in relation to the job) during the interviewing process, pay attention to the way you communicate. There is evidence to suggest that non-verbal communication overpowers verbal communication so if you describe yourself as confident and outgoing but speak inaudibly and avoid eye contact, the interviewer will read the latter as indicating a lack of confidence and disregard what you said about being confident, practice anything you are concerned about. This could be saying your answers aloud which builds more confidence in hearing yourself speak or having a trial run of the journey to the interview.

Techniques to control your nerves:
                         In most of the interviews, nerves can make you forget to do simple things such as smile and listen, which can result in being thought of as unfriendly or inattentive. You are more likely to be nervous if you are inadequately prepared so our advice to you is that you should give yourself time to think about what unique qualities you will bring to the job/organisation, think of practical examples to demonstrate what you have achieved and draw upon all aspects of your working, educational and social life, write notes and take these along to the interview, use cues in your notes to highlight examples that you want to draw upon, such as cricket team, course representative, sales job, be aware of the structure of the interview. Interviews often begin with topics that are easier to answer because you need less time to think, such as "tell us about your studies at university", pause before answering a difficult question in order to give yourself time to think, use positive language, as interviewers will be assessing your motivation and enthusiasm, ask for clarification if, at first, you are unsure of what the question means, you should breathe.

Practice your skills:
                         Your university careers and employ-ability service is likely to provide practice interview sessions. Alternatively, you could practice your answers (to anticipated questions) with someone you trust and seek feedback but do not be overly self-critical, use non-job interviews as opportunities to practice and monitor your interview skills e.g. discussions with your tutor, doctor etc. You also could ask for feedback and advice after unsuccessful interviews and take it as an opportunity to learn and improve your skills, you could even pay a private company to provide interview practice.

Material to take with you to an interview:
                         In general you will not need more than your own letter of application and CV, the job specification/description and your own notes. Your invitation to interview should detail everything you need to bring. Often employers request examination certificates, which can take time to locate, so make sure you check what you need in plenty of time. You might wish to impress by reading up on the organisation's literature e.g. a business plan or corporate social responsibility strategy but make sure you have read it in depth and be prepared to share your views and ideas. A pen and notebook are always worth carrying with you and if giving a presentation, take a copy on a data stick even if you have emailed it beforehand, along with copies of the slides to use as handouts for the interview panel. If you take a mobile phone, make sure it is switched to silent or off before entering the organisation.

Last edited by alisiddiqui (2015-03-27 11:24:58)