How to win at that job interview

You sweated long and hard through your studies, you gained your qualification, you filed the job application (probably many times over) and you have finally been short-listed for an interview.

Your overriding concern by this stage, therefore, is likely to be how you are going to turn the interview process itself to your advantage and actually land the job you want.

Help

Although the prospect of attending your first job interview might be daunting in the extreme – so much hangs on it, after all – there is a good deal of help available, offering advice and guidance about what to expect and how to perform.

Some of that help and guidance may come from the most unlikely of sources.

South Norfolk Council, for example, publishes a helpful and comprehensive guide on “How to succeed at interviews” and is quite naturally pitched towards individuals looking for a job with the council. Much of the information provided and advice offered, however, may be applicable to just about any interview situation.

If you are looking for a universal approach to the interview process and some of the secrets to winning it, you might instead turn to free, professional resources like the 10minuteswith.com website, who publish an exhaustive list of questions and answers on just about every aspect of the typical interview and ways in which to ace it. It also happens to be free to join.

To do or not to do

In order to help you find that winning formula for sealing your job interview with success, here are some suggested dos and don’ts:

• Do
  • avoid the waffle and be specific – your interviewer has probably spent a good deal of time devising questions to test you and the last thing he or she wants to hear is your beating about the bush;
  • stress the transferability of your skills – there is little point in your highlighting the knowledge you might have gained in getting your degree if it has no relevance to the job for which you are being interviewed;
  • one of the biggest differences between the academic world you are leaving and the world of work you are entering is that the latter involves your being a team player – the interview may be the time to start using “we” somewhat more often than “I”;
  • another word which it might be helpful to keep to the forefront of your mind is “persistent” – in your studies you may have had the luxury of simply giving up if a problem seemed too difficult to resolve, but any employer is going to expect that you worry away at the issue until a solution is found;
• Don’t
  • respond to any question with words along the lines of “I’m glad you asked that question” – it may be your way of playing for time before you can think of a sensible answer, but the interviewer is more likely to appreciate a thoughtful pause rather than a vacuous response;
  • avoid appearing to be overeager or boastful – however good you are, however copper-bottomed your talents, no one is good at everything and it is not only more honest but also more convincing to admit that you may find some things difficult to do.

It is probably impossible to devise a complete and comprehensive list of dos and don’ts when it comes to your interview technique. At the end of the day, of course, it is your technique and yours alone. Think about it and hone it and sooner or later you are likely to win at that job interview.

Tags: job interviews

Category: Student News