The job interview is usually very important for whether you get the job you are looking for or not. Your personal characteristics and your behavior during the interview can be directly decisive for whether the employer wants to hire you. It is therefore important that you come well prepared.
The preparations
The secret behind a successful job interview is to be well prepared to be calm and confident during the interview and to be able to convey a professional and fair picture of oneself.
By knowing your strengths and weaknesses and preparing answers to the most common interview questions, the chances of succeeding in the interview increase. When you are called for an interview, then start preparing your mental picture of a job interview.
Practice by being well-read on what you yourself wrote in your CV and your application, what is written about the job and on the company's website or in the job advertisement.
Describe your strengths and practice communicating them. Knowing the strengths and having experience in expressing them makes it easier to give a selling picture of oneself. Do not sit in front of the computer and write down poles on what to say, but talk through so that you yourself hear what you will say.
Specify what you want to tell about yourself during the interview. Which parts of your life give you experience or show your qualities that are to the benefit of the service. Write down the questions you want answered during the interview, about the job, about the company, and about personnel issues. & Nbsp;
Gather the material you need, grades, work samples, contact information for your references and other documents that the employer may want to look at during the interview.
Feel free to ask if they want you to bring something special with you when you book the interview.
Find out as much as possible about the workplace; how many employees do they have, what is their business concept, what different business areas do they have and who are their biggest customers?
What does the organization look like and what sets the company apart from the competition? Read carefully on the company's website, you are guaranteed to be asked what you know about the company.
If you know someone who has worked or works at the company, you can have a real goldmine of information. They can give you information about the company culture and business, knowledge that comes in handy in the job interview. If you know a lot about the company, it shows that you are really interested.
Find out a number of questions that you can ask the employer. By asking questions during the interview, you can find out more about the employer and the job and at the same time show commitment and interest.
Rehearse the knowledge you acquired about the company in the research before your application, go through the job advertisement and your application again.
Also think about what you think the employer wants out of the interview, what is the most important competence for the job, etc.
Plan to wear clothes that are suitable for the job. Which attire is appropriate depends to some extent on which job you are looking for. Wear something that you think gives a good impression and that you at the same time feel comfortable in.
Practice answering different questions that you may have in the interview. Some classic interview questions that appear in most job interviews include about your strengths and weaknesses, how you react to stress and criticism, what role you usually take in a group and what motivates you at work.
Where do you see yourself in five or ten years, why you applied for the job, what you can add to the workplace and what type of manager you prefer, are other common questions.
Letting someone you know test interview you, preferably someone with experience of holding job interviews can be good if you feel insecure before the interview. It gives you the opportunity to think about what you want to answer to different types of questions and how you want to appear.
Find out how to get there and when you need to go so as not to be late. Should you be late for any reason, it is of course important that you contact the employer.
First impression
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Remember to show off your best page right from the start. Shake hands. The handshake is more important than you think when it comes to first impressions. Make eye contact and give a calm and collected impression while greeting.
Think about body language
What you say is only a small part of the impression you give. Your body language and your voice are the biggest part of the impression. What signals do you give? It is always the body's signals that say the most about how a person really is. Be aware of how you move and feel free to ask a friend to watch you for a while and then tell them what impression they got of you. Make sure the criticism is constructive. Body language must not take concentration from what you have to say!
Do not talk too fast
Voice is an important part of the impression you give. You may be talking too fast or too slow, or your voice may be too low. Practice the weaknesses of your voice. Many people have difficulty with silence and it can easily be that you continue to talk even if you do not really have anything to say. Many recruiters use silence as a way to see how you handle the situation.
You can be quiet for a while. If you find it unpleasant, it is always good to drink something, as a natural way to be quiet. Be yourself. You are at the job interview to sell your skills and you as a person. Do not be afraid to highlight your skills and show that you both want the job and will manage the job in the best way.
Be yourself
You gain nothing by pretending to be someone other than who you are.
Yes to coffee or water, it gives a first contact and you also get the opportunity to take small drinking breaks during the interview.
The salary issue should be addressed by the employer, as this is usually addressed at the end of the interview.
When you leave the interview, make sure you are told what happens next. Finish by thanking the interviewer for a pleasant interview.
Ask questions
It is then important that you think about what questions to ask. What do you want to convey during the job interview? You might want to ask how is the freedom at work? How many have resigned during the year? Is the business climate good ?? Is there a lot of competition, are you friends? Do managers inspire the development of their employees? Do you get a lot of further education and what are the career opportunities like? Do you have flex time? Is the job only a source of income? Yes, then you should only ask about salary and salary development, holidays and bonuses, etc. Do you want to convey that these questions are the most important for you? Yes, you start with them.
After the job interview
Think about how the interview went. What went well, and what can you do better next time? Feel free to write this down, so that you do not repeat the same mistake at the next interview. You often have to wait a few weeks before you are notified. You can then call the company and ask how it is going, to show interest. Beware of being annoying.