Ok, you found the position you’ve been looking for. You have sent in your resume and received the phone call for an interview. Now comes the most crucial part the face to face interview. Here are some simple steps to preparing for any interview.
Know the Company you are interviewing with:
Determining basic facts and details about the company you are applying to seems like a obvious effort candidates would undertake. But not everybody will. Ellen Gordon
Reeves, author of the recently released Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?, recalls working at a book publishing company and interviewing candidates who thought they were there for a magazine job. It’s not just young people who under prepare, Reeves says. Candidates who are seeking jobs should be gathering as much information as possible. Some of the things a job seeker can do are reading company business plans, reading annual reports, also try setting up Google Alerts so you are up to date on company news. Many career coaches are now encouraging job candidates to learn some of the issues and problems the company may be facing and prepare some thoughts on fixing those particular issues.
Research the people within the company:
While it is very important to understand exactly what the company does, it may be even more important to know exactly who you will be interviewing with. Reeves suggests asking who you’ll be interviewing with—name and title. Then get familiar with his or her staff biography and LinkedIn profile. “You need to know as much as possible about the people you’re interviewing with,” Reeves says. It’s not a fail-safe, however. Company plans could change, and you might end up interviewing with someone entirely different.
Find an insider:
Find someone who knows this company and can provide valuable insights into the work you’ll be doing, Reeves suggests. He may be able to provide some details on the people you’ll be interviewing with and their style. He may also be able to tell you about the person who’s leaving the job you’re interviewing for and about his or her skills and the issues he or she dealt with.
Study your résumé:
Your résumé should be well tailored to the job that you’re applying to, so much that it should serve as a kind of outline and study manual for your interview preparation, Reeves says. Use the requirements for the job as spelled out in the job posting to tailor your résumé. Then, you’ll be automatically speaking to your relevant work experience and qualifications. In preparing for the interview, you should recruit friends and family to “test you on your résumé the way you’d test yourself before an exam,” Reeves says.
Change your view point:
Once you have learned all the information about the company and the person you will be interviewing with and believe that your resume is as close to perfect for the position-step back and take a breather. Reeves suggests repeating a simple mantra: “I’m qualified, I want to do it, and I’m the best person to do this job,” for example. Consider the interview from the employer’s point of view: They’ve checked out your résumé and responded positively to it. They want this to work out. A hire is the successful intersection of two searches, Reeves says—your search for work, and the company’s search for the right worker.
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