How to win your dream job – Prepare, practice, and perform during your in-person job interview

your-dream-job
4 Comments

How to win your dream job – Prepare, practice, and perform during your in-person job interview

Congratulations! It is time for you to speak. You have seen your dream job advertisement, applied and YES, your resume has been able to make an impression. That is why you have been called for an in-person job interview.

Always remember that even though you are smart and well qualified, you need to prepare thoroughly for your interview because this will be a one-time chance that you get. Let us see how to make it a winning moment.




cs_image_url





01. Make a note of the interview details

Once you receive a call from the recruiting department of your dream job company, you will start questioning yourself while getting super excited and happy too. Make sure to portrait a pleasant impression during the first call itself, because it can be the starting point of your verbal interview; therefore, be mindful not to miss any information given by the company. From this call itself, you should showcase your phone etiquettes, excellent communication skills, and most importantly, convey to the caller that clearly heard what they spoke to you.

One valuable tip would be, to make a note of all the information including the interview date, time, location, the interview type, and details of a contact point while you are on the call. By any chance, if anything happens to be unclear, make sure to politely ask again until you clear yourself as this would be mandatory information to attend to the interview.

02. Research the company

Having a certain level of understanding about the company you are going to be interviewed for is very important. There are plenty of ways you can study about the company. You can refer company website, social media platforms, friends who work at that company, and reviews about the company on different platforms. Knowing what the company does and their culture, dress codes, and working environment will give you confidence and a message to the interview panel that you have been well prepared, and you are a person who takes initiative.

03. Know your resume

Interviewers are going through several resumes and they conduct several other interviews as well. Therefore do not assume that they remember each and everything you mentioned in your resume. An in-person job interview is a chance for you to verbally market yourself to the employer. Always assume that the interviewers have not seen your resume and consider this opportunity to highlight your achievements to create an impression in the interviewer’s mind. Explain your work history creatively during the interviews with real examples, achievements. Also, make sure not to oversell yourself too.

04. Prepare and Practice for it!

This is the very first nonverbal impression which you are going to create. Therefore, it is very important to stand straight with confidence, connect with a firm handshake, and keep eye contact during this meeting. Therefore, practicing nonverbal communication before the interview will be very helpful.

Even though you have qualifications and skills, if you have not prepared, you may get panic when answering the questions at the interview. Sometimes you might speak more than required too. This will create a high chance of making mistakes too. Read the job post, identify some possible sample questions, refresh what you have learned, and prepare well to answer confidently at the interview.

It is a well-known fact that interviewers tend to ask behavioral questions at interviews. Therefore, prepare yourself to provide them with real-life examples of your initiatives, collaborations with a team, or problem-solving situations you have come across your journey.

Your answers should be able to convenience interviews on “Why they should hire you?”

At last, interviewers will allow you to ask your questions from them. Ending the interview without asking any questions back from interviewers is a complete turn-off. Show them you are curious about the opening and always do not forget an interview is a two-way thing. Therefore, get prepared with at least 03 questions to ask from interviewers such as the career path involved with the opening post, the company culture, and the availability of working from home.

05. Dress for the job or company

Being well-groomed for an interview is very important. This does not mean you have to wear a branded or expensive suit for the interview. What you need to wear is formal attire or if applicable, smart casual based on the company culture and position you are applying for. It will be great if you can search and be accurate about the company dress code before the interview. It is advisable to have a set of formal attire tailor-made for yourself, keep it clean and neat along with a pair of formal shoes to attend interviews professionally.

06. Be Punctual for the interview

Attending on time for the interview is very important. Check the interview location in advance and estimate the total time you will require to reach there. Leave home keeping the target of reaching the exact location at least 15 mins prior. That will help you to enter the interview without a rush.

Apart from all, your attitude plays a vital role in your interview process. In a situation where you are unable to attend due to an unavoidable reason for the interview on a particular date but still, you do not want to miss this opportunity, you may contact the company and inform them prior and request a new date mentioning your reason and interest. This shows some good qualities of you. This is one of the reasons, why I mentioned getting the details of a contact point during your first call itself.

At last, avoid these kinds of behavior during the interview,

  • speaking unpleasantly about your past companies
  • getting too familiar
  • being overconfident

Finding a job is not an easy thing. Therefore, you need to make a fine balance of everything during the first in-person interview to boost your possibilities of landing the job. GOOD LUCK!

cs_image_url

Hashani Ruberu

Assistant Manager – Human Resource & Administration.

Related Blogs