For many people, going for an interview may only happen once every few years. It can get the most confident individuals a little nervous especially if you’re interviewing with a company that you really want to work for or a position that would take your career to the next step.
If you’re reading this, hopefully that means you’ve been invited for an interview. Here are a few tips to help you prepare to give a good first impression:
1) Make it a priority
When you get a call to schedule for your interview, you may be given specific days and times to choose from or you may be asked for your availability. In either case, you may need to take some time to check your schedule to see what would work. Make sure that you make going to the interview a priority for you and make necessary arrangements so that you can go to an interview as soon as possible. Once you have confirmed, try not to let anything get in the way of you attending your interview unless it’s an absolute emergency. If you must reschedule, make sure you don’t wait until the day of to do so.
2) Ask the right questions to prepare
When scheduling for your interview, you also want to ask what you need to prepare for the interview. You want to find out who your interviewers are going to be, what type of interview it will be, whether they will be any testing involved, if you need to bring any samples of work, and what specifically the interviews would want to learn about you. The more you can find out, the better you can prepare yourself.
3) Know who you are and what you can offer
As you prepare for an interview, you want to do an exercise of going through your own career from the beginning and takes notes of significant experiences and skills you’ve gained. This could include specific responsibilities and tasks that you’ve mastered or computer software and applications that you’ve become proficient with. Your interviewers want to get to know you, so be prepared to tell your story.
4) Prepare examples and achievements
There is no better way to showcase yourself than with examples of your work and you past achievements. Share the work that you are the proudest of and can really highlight all the skills that you have developed throughout your career. You also want to share success stories of any major accomplishments in your career.
5) Prepare to find out if this is the right opportunity for you
Before going to your interview, many of you will do hours of research about the company and find out as much as you can, but it may still not be enough. You want to find out as much as you can about a company before you join them and there’s no better time or better people to ask than during the interview and people who are working from within. Prepare a list of questions that are important for you to decide if this is the right opportunity for you.
6) Plan your route and your schedule
Take some time to find out exactly where you are heading to for your interview. Plan how you will be getting there, whether you are driving or taking public transit, especially if you’re going to an area that you’re not familiar with. Make sure that you plan a few different routes (and know the different bus / subway schedules). Always plan to arrive around 15 minutes before your scheduled interview time so that you have time to sign in, but don’t arrive too early and sit waiting in their lobby.
7) Dress for Success
You want to dress appropriately to show that you respect the opportunity and the chance to interview with them. Business attire is always recommended and works in almost every scenario. Avoid being too casual because it may be considered as you not taking this opportunity seriously.
8) Take the pressure off yourself
Don’t stress out about it! The worst thing that you can do before an interview is to create unnecessary stress. Remember, the fact that you have been invited for an interview means that the company sees potential in you. Go in with confidence and look at it as an opportunity for success and not a chance for you to fail.
Follow these tips and go to your next in-person interview with confidence to get that next dream job of yours!
Contact us today to speak with one of our Recruitment Specialists and let us help you find new opportunities for the next step in your career!