People spend huge amounts of time preparing for upcoming
events, finals in college, big presentations at work, or
planning for a wedding. But when it comes to preparing for
an interview for a position they will be spending at least
a third of their lives every week at, most people take
little time to prepare for their interview and end up with
whatever job is offered or available.
Although looks do matter and non-verbal first impressions
play a strong role when interviewing, proper preparation
for an interview dramatically increases your chances of
impressing an employer and landing the job. When employers
and potential employees are asked the same question, "Are
the applicants effective or good at interviewing?" Most
applicants would say "yes" while the employers say "no".
Imagine the advantage you will have being prepared for your
interview, that alone will get you noticed and keep the
attention focused on you as a position candidate.
How do you prepare for interviews and increase the odds in
your favor? Preparation - Practice - More Practice!!! I
can't be stressed this enough. Like a test, ball game, or
any activity the more you prepare the better you will
perform. How one practices is how they will play the game
so give your practice efforts 110% .
Become familiar with the company. Do research on the
company; discover where they are now and where they are
headed. What are they looking for? What the work atmosphere
is? Once you are familiar with the corporate goals you can
use your experiences and skills and relate them
specifically to what the current needs of the company.
Make a list of questions that will be asked of you at the
interview. When I am preparing my clients for an interview
we work on both the easy and tough questions. Remember to
answer honestly, ease negative responses by explaining how
you turned a situation around or learned something valuable
from the experience. Try not to talk negatively about
current or past employers, focus on positive experiences,
relationships, accomplishments and share that. And again,
as I tell my interview clients, you must Practice -
Practice - Practice!
Have a friend, coworker or possibly a family member help
you with a mock interview. Practice before you begin, think
out and even write down your answers. It usually takes
several tries before you are comfortable and confident at
answering all the questions. Taping yourself is probably
the most effective training tool - seeing your verbal and
non-verbal communication style helps to understand how you
are perceived. Keep what works and changes things that
don't.
Interviewing usually isn't a comfortable experience for
anyone. You will increase your confidence; and increase the
employer's confidence in you by sounding confident and
having a well thought out answer. Being prepared will help
you to provide relevant powerful information when you know
before hand how you will answer questions. People tend to
ramble on when they get nervous and that can be dangerous.
Interview preparation and practice in key!
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Kris Plantrich is the owner of ResumeWonders Writing and
Career Coaching Services. She is certified in Resume
Writing and Interview Coaching, experienced and affordable
and is nationally published. Reuse of this article is
encouraged but must include a link to
http://www.resumewonders.com .
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