Have a job interview tomorrow that I really want.?

Question

Has anyone got any tips they can share to help me snag this job?

Answer 1

Hi Roxy,

Congrats on getting the interview. I hope you get the job.

I've got a slew of tips for you below but the most important tip out of the bunch is to build rapport with the interviewer. You can do this by using neuro linguistic programming. In layman's term that means to mirror the body language of your interviewer. Sit the way the interviewer sits. If he/she is sitting straight up then you should be sitting like that too. Building rapport will make the interviewer more comfortable and thus he/she will like you more.

So here are my tips. You may want to print this one out, hehe.

Remember, during an interview, you are a salesman. You are there to sell yourself to your prospective employer. You want to market yourself in the most interesting way possible. Great preparation for the interview is your best bet. A salesman that is knowledgeable, friendly and positive always gets the close.

Do Your Research

It doesn’t matter how much knowledge or experience you have about the position that you are trying to get in a company if you don’t have a clue who the company is or what they do. It is disastrous to enter into an interview and not be able to tell your interviewer what their company is about. How else are you going to tell them why you feel that you would be a good addition to their company?

A good and less time consuming way to get to know about a company is to look up their website. You can get all of the general knowledge about them that way, including the names of key people and their job titles. (There will be more on that in a minute) You should sift through most of their pages, including the pages that show samples of their work and/or products.

You can also look them up in the media files if there are any. Read the articles about them and soak in as much information as possible. Another thing that would be nice to do is to check out the surrounding area around the company. It makes for a nice breaker during the interview. You can make a comment about a particular monument or resting place nearby.

A trickier way to get a little extra information about the company is to call them on the phone and ask general questions, without referring to yourself as a potential employee. It’s a nice way to get the goods on upcoming promotions etc.

Know Your Contact

When called for an interview, ask to whom you will be talking to. It is nice to be able to greet your interviewer by name at the beginning of the interview without first being told who they are. It shows that you are on top of things, and have prepared before hand.

You will also want to do some research on the person that will be conducting your interview. Learn what they do for the company and try to get some samples of their work or achievements in the company.

If you know what department that you are going to work in you may want to get the names of your potential colleagues and superiors prior to the interview as well. This way you can get some information about their roles in the company and the types of work that they have done.

Mention some of the things that you learn about your potential colleagues in the interview and about how much you look forward to working with them in the future. If you can, give an example of their work so that you will appear more sincere.

Practice Your Responses

It is best, if you are prone to nervousness, to practice giving your responses to the questions that may be asked of you. (A list of the most common questions will appear later on in the manual) You should practice your wording and the tone of voice that you plan to use; Try keeping your responses as brief as possible, but with as much detail as you can.

When you are trying to work out the proper responses to the interviewer’s questions, you will also want to practice the art of getting your nerves under control as well as ridding yourself of any other odd habits while talking; like expressing yourself with your hands.

Practice answering your interview questions with a friend. Get his or her opinion about your delivery and gestures. Perhaps your friend will have some nice insights for you to use during the real interview.

Dress the Part

Pre-select your attire the day before your interview. You want to make sure that your clothes do not have any wrinkles or stains on them. Pick an outfit that best suits the type of job that you are applying for. If you are going to work in an office setting, you should dress conservatively. Soft earth tones are best for women. Try to avoid mini skirts and shirts that show too much skin. A nice dark suit is good for a male.

Of course if you are planning to work outdoors or in an artistic environment, you can dress a little more casually. Just be certain to avoid wearing denim jeans, over sized clothing, and under sized clothing. Women should try and avoid wearing too much make-up as well. It gives the wrong impression.

Even in the hotter seasons, you should not wear sandals or gym shoes to an interview. It sends an unprofessional message. The same goes for hats and other accessories.

Get Organized

Make sure that all of the things that you will need for the interview are prepared the day before. Make a checklist of the things that you will need if you have to. You should always have an extra resume handy during the interview. You should also bring with you a note pad to take notes during the interview if needed. (Only write down the important things that you think you will need to remember)If you have a business card, have one handy, it makes for easy contact later, and it also shows that you are professional and may help the employer to remember your name.

Again, best of luck with your interview!

Answer 2

I'm assuming you have the required skills for the job. Dress properly and professionally for whatever the job is. Always maintain eye contact when being interviewed. Don't ask about the salary until the very end of the interview unless it's brought up by the interviewer. Be prepared with an answer if they ask what you can bring to the company. A good answer is reliability, good skills, ethics, loyalty, and working well with others but self-motivated. When you feel the interview is at an end, thank them for their time, tell them you hope to hear from them soon and shake hands.

Answer 3

Hi Roxy,

I hire lots of people so hope this gives you an inside view of what an interviewer looks for when hiring people.

1. How can this employee add value to the business?
2. Nevermind if you don't know much about the job. Are you willing to learn and adapt?
3. After the interviewer finished his questions, ask him/her in reutrn about the company, where it's headed, what are your growth possibilities, etc. Learn about the company before you go (websites, other employees, etc.).
4. Talk with confidence be honest ofcourse. If you're nervous, tell your interviewer you're nervous. He/She will appreciate your honestly.

Even if you goof up in interviews, don't fret. The interviewer will most likely forget about it and move on to other issues if he/she feels that you're sufficiently suitable for the job anyway.

Here's something that has helped me get my dream jobs. Talk like you've already got the job and the interview is just about negotiating the money part. I wouldn't recommend you trying it because done wrongly, it might come across as being arrogant.

Don't forget the money part. Decide how much you're willing to accept the job for, inflate the price by about 10% and if your interviewer insists on negotiating, then bring it down to 5%, eventually settling down for your original amount.

Good Luck! Let me know if you bagged it!

Answer 4

Lots of answers saying dress appropriately. The question is, who is doing the interview? Any chance you can find out ahead what they are like? The more you know of them, the more you know which are the right buttons to push....you can be the nicest person in the world, capable and so on, but if they want some sleazy secretary to look good at the front desk of a car showroom, dressing appropriate would be showing some cleavage! Get what I am saying. Find out the territory before you go in to get the job. Good luck.

Answer 5

Be confident and be honest (as stated above).

I used to teach a career strategies class where we really went deep into resumes, cover letters, interviews, etc. In addition, I used to perform some HR responsibilities at a prior job, so I've been the interviewer on many occasions. I could go on and on here, but to make things simple, I will recommend a list of articles you should review.

Go to careers.msn.com and read through all of the articles about interviewing. They're an excellent resource, and very up-to-date.

Answer 6

Walk in the room with confidence. Use eye contact when speaking. Know a little bit about the industry your interviewing for and use related key words in your responses. If none of that works resort to the " Basic Instinct" with Sharron Stone type of interview. (smile)

Answer 7

dont stammer over your answers... sit down & ask yourself what it is they will want to know... you can pretty much figure alot of the basics that they will ask about.... tell me a little about yourself... what makes you the right person for this job, what experience to do you have ...... last positions... what you did at the other places....
so write these things down & just kinda have it fresh in your head.... when you do that you can take the lead... there is nothing worse than not preparing & they can ask the simplest question... even about you.... and just kinda dummy up due to nerves.. that helps my nerves. you can also write down questions that would make sense of you to ask so you seem very interested as you are. you can take your notes....
be outgoing, well spoken, dressed and ready.... light hearted, personality, wit, charm...... dont go in actin all crazy, just professional...... get a feel for the people & place... good luck

Answer 8

As an interviewer, I like to see eye contact. It gives a sense that the candidate is engaged. Also, you will be asked at the end if you have questions.....ALWAYS ask at least one good question. Example of one Not to ask: "How do you like your job?"

Best of Luck!!!

Answer 9

Yes - don't let it show that you really want it. In fact, convince yourself that you don't. If you go in with that mindset then you will screw up. Your eagerness will show and it may be mistaken for desperation. (I know - I've seen it) Be professional, cool and detached, but not to the point where you'll look arrogant.
My advice - treat it like just any other job, be confident in yourself, and you'll be fine.

Answer 10

Be honest and direct. Give good handshake and dress conservatively, in clothes that fit your body and are flattering. Stand tall, make eye contact, and smile. People want to hire employees who are confident, well put-together, and personable. Goodluck.