No matter if you have just earned your high school or GED diploma, completed college, started out on your career, or plan to start an internship, it is necessary that you make your interview preparations.
An expert at job search and preparation for interviews, a professor at the Illinois Computer Systems Institute shares some hints to stand out from the crowd and thus get your job, no matter which job application and interview it is.
Just listen to Jean-Michel Gauthier explain why job applications get ignored so often:
It is important that you realize time is very valuable when you start your career. This can be anywhere, like skipping over to Craigslist and starting where there are higher chances of your finding an open position.
It all depends on your industry, which is why our expert suggests using the help of LinkedIn, Facebook, and Career Services and the help of previous employers and co-workers like networking outlets where there is no wastage of your time.
However, you will have to improve your resume to fit the 21st-century job market if you plan to look for employment sometime later in life. In fact, it is suggested not to use dates on the education section of your resume.
Experts suggest adding only your present and latest job skills, and never mention anything more than 10 years old on your resume unless the job you apply for is related to certain positions, and it is important for you to stay informed on the current trends and topics.
The benefit of not mentioning your job skills is that it proves your age and career change are irrelevant and thus make you a likable candidate for any job position, and this also applies to well-paying jobs in basic industries or the public sector.
Dress appropriately
Experts also suggest not wearing any sequins or high heels to an interview. Manicured nails, limited jewelry, a plain, cleaned, a well-fitting and pressed suit, limited perfume or cologne, and neatly styled naturally colored hair are the best for the interview.
They advise covering all tattoos, removing piercings, and carrying a briefcase with 3 resumes and reference copies each. In case you can’t afford new clothes for the interview, they suggest borrowing clothes or making a visit to resale shops for quality interview clothing. If you have to attend a company interview, research the company and get optimally prepared for it.
Experts thus suggest you learn more about the company thoroughly and practice a short 30-second commercial discussing the attributes you assure to the company. It is advisable you maintain eye contact during the interview and that you speak calmly and clearly. You have to mention your job option when you end the interview.
The interviewer
Recruiting an individual should be an entirely unemotional and logic-driven exercise.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case, as many people will allow their feelings and emotions to influence decisions that they have to make. For an interview candidate, this phenomenon creates problems and opportunities.
You and everyone else involved in an interview may know that you are the perfect candidate in terms of skills and experience.
However, other concerns of a more personal nature also have a large part to play. Many candidates fall short because they are unable to convince the interviewers of their suitability as measured by the employers’ concerns. Perhaps it’s fear of failure; perhaps it’s fear of success.
The converse of this applies as well, whereby you might not be the best in terms of skills and experience, but you are a perfect fit when it comes to the personality side of issues considered.
The best person for the job?
It often happens that the best person for the job in terms of skills and experience is not the one appointed.
Other people not involved in the interview process often meet this regular occurrence in the workplace with bewilderment and disbelief. It may be that you yourself were overlooked for a role or a promotion when you believe that you were the best person for the job.
If you understand that the entire package represented by a prospective employee is evaluated, you may then understand why this may have happened to you.
Don’t forget that interviewers are people too. Everyone likes to feel comfortable with the people that they deal with. Interviewers especially have a strong subconscious need to feel that the person they have chosen “feels” right to them.
They want to hire somebody like themselves because they believe this person will be more predictable, more manageable, and a “safe” choice.
The fact of the matter is that very few interviewers are ever trained for the role of interviewing and recruiting employees. This aspect of working life is more of an art than a science.
The ability to interview people with a view to hiring is a skill that is acquired over time and, like with anything else, will involve a few mistakes along the way. As the old saying goes, “good judgment and good experience come from times of bad judgment and bad experience.”
Conducting an interview
Interview candidates expect that the people who will be interviewing them will be far better organized, more experienced, and know every trick in the book about everything. This is far from the truth. Often the people involved in making appointment decisions are not used to having to do so.
For many interviewers, having to conduct an interview is seen as something of a waste of time. Inexperienced interviewers often aren’t qualified to discuss things like salary negotiations and are sometimes even more nervous than the candidates before them.
It tends to be only with the larger companies that there will be many people involved in an interview, with most of them having had some time to prepare for conducting an interview. Anyway, just make sure you’ll get optimally prepared for the interview.
Smaller companies will naturally have fewer people involved, but this doesn’t mean that the interview will be any easier. One experienced interviewer is worth five inexperienced interviewers.
Unfortunately, irrespective of an interviewer’s experience, they will nevertheless deliver their opinion of you. You will obviously need to win over every interviewer regardless of their level of experience.
Experienced interviewers will always look to find the best person for the role being offered. It often happens that they do not find a perfect match between the pool of people that have shown an interest and what they are looking for.
So just because you know that you are not a perfect match, don’t count yourself out because you may be the best person that they interviewed.