Great Job Interview Practice Tips

1. If you are going to interview with a new company it is important that you have looked for a lot of information regarding that company before you set foot into their office.  Many interviewers will start off asking what you know about their company.  If you fail this first question you might just as well leave the interview and go back to the job boards.
2. Print out a few copies of your resume and cover letter. When you go into the interview you should have all of your needed material with you.  If you have a portfolio make sure that it is in great condition when you go for the interview.
3. Research who is interviewing you. It is always good if you can to look up the person that is interviewing you online before you walk in.  This gives you an advantage because people always play to their strengths in an interview.  If you are interviewing with the CTO he is probably going to be looking more at your technical capabilities rather than other aspects.  Understanding where the interviewer is coming from is very useful as you try to answer their questions.
4. Think beyond the norm. Interviewers are going to be asking you some pretty off the wall questions that are made to trip you up.  It is important that you get used to this type of question well in advance.  Doing mind twisters and thinking beyond your background is very important.  Most interviewers are not as interested in what you already know, they are looking for the direction your learning is going in and how you can apply what you already know to the world.
5. Relax. Many times when people are in interviews they start to tense up.  Before you get there, let some energy out, do something that will help you relax.
6. Take a deep breath. You don’t have to answer every question that the interviewer asks within 2 seconds of the person asking.  Don’t sit there and wait for night to come before you answer but collect your thoughts before you dive into the first answer that pops into your mind.  This will save you from saying something that isn’t right and will also show the company that you take the time to think through your solutions rather than diving in head first.
7. Look the part. You are selling yourself for those 30 minutes.  You need to take a good long look at yourself and go over every aspect of your attire with a fine toothed comb.  Matching sock, tie, belt, brushed teeth.  It all has to be in line.  These all directly reflect your personal branding efforts.
8. Be on time. You have no excuse for being late.  Always aim to show up to an interview 15 minutes early.  You can wait in the parking lot for those 15 minutes but if you are late you have already shown the interviewer that you are not that interested in the position.

Good interview tips are mostly common sense.  You have to take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of the person that is interviewing you.  They want someone that can stand out and that they believe will directly contribute to the well being of their company.  You need to do everything you can to make sure you are what they are looking for.
Best of luck with your interviews, refer back to these good interview tips at any time! Also check out our other interview tips from previous posts! 


 

 

Job Interview Questions and Answers

Here is an insight to the job interview questions that may be put across from the other side of the table to you. Also conveyed are some answers to them.

Q: How do you picture a typical day/week for yourself?

A: This question demands a very detailed description. Clearly highlight some of your day to day responsibilities and tasks. Thereafter, make sure that everything you speak is well knit with the job profile you are being interviewed for. The more linking you exhibit between your past job and your would-be job, the better are your chances of being hired. Employers highly accolade this attribute of using your skills adapted from your past job to your new job.

Q: What is that factor which drives you to work hard?

A: It is obvious that your interviewer does not know you very well. He would really want to know why you were successful in your last job. Undoubtedly, your answer would vary in accordance to your last job(s). Some generalized answers as observed over the years could be that you enjoy being challenged, you are always looking for ways to keep your boss happy, and you are very customer oriented and give their needs the utmost priority. 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Have a Great Job Interview

If speed dating is a form of punishment for you, you’re not going to like this fact: it takes only between five to fifteen minutes to make a decision not to hire you during an interview. Your window of opportunity is way smaller than you think. You need the remaining time to bounce back and make a great impression.

Those very minutes could either make or break you. It’s time you make it count. When the person interviewing you greets you, establish eye contact, smile, and give a firm handshake.

Always show your interest and appreciation because this is what they want to see. Also stand tall because this conveys interest, which is attractive, and that makes them want to get to know you more.

Also, you wouldn’t want to show an interviewer photos of yourself sloppy drunk at a party, or dish about the people you’ve hooked up with. But, if you’re posting details on a public page, then you pretty much already have. A full one-quarter of the recruiters report routinely doing Google searches on job candidates.

If they find unwanted behavior, this reduces your chances of a job offer. To a recruiter, these photos make you look undependable, and not serious about work. Before you send out a single resume, Google yourself and delete any blog entries, tweets, and photos on social networking sites that could make you look bad.

Though there’s no guarantee that they’re gone forever, and that’s one thing you’ll have to face up to. Then, make sure that your settings are private.

Morph into a good match. Nothing beats having multiple skills that relate directly to the position you’re after, but the quality that runs a surprisingly close second with future employers is being a “good fit” for the company. 


 

1. Get there Early – The worst thing you can do is to show up to a job interview late. What does that show to the hiring manager about your dedication level? Why would any hiring manager want to hire a person who doesn’t have the organization skills to show up to the job interview on time? By showing up early for the interview, you are demonstrating and showing respect to the organization and the hiring manager. Also by showing up early, you may have the opportunity for more face time with the interviewer. Face time is important, as the longer you have with the hiring manager, the better your chances you will be chosen for the job.
2. Do your Homework on the Company – Never go into a job interview without knowing anything about the company. You need to do your homework; find out how many locations they have, who is the CEO and what products and services they market. A good idea is to find out their financials from their company website and other investor relations. You should be prepared to ask some questions about what you findings of the company. At the end of every interview that I have been involved with, I like to ask “What questions do you have for me?”I am always amazed with people who have done their homework and are serious about working for the organization.
3 Make sure to Listen and Don’t Interrupt – It may seem counter-productive, however the hiring manger is speaking. It is a demonstrated reality, that hiring managers think interviewers go better, if they do most of the talking. Make sure you use your research about the company and ask a lot of questions to get the interviewer talking.
4. Bring Extra Copies of Your Resume – Hiring Managers have a lot to do and most of the time they don’t have a copy of your resume ready for the interview. Even if they do have a copy, there may be other people besides the hiring manager interviewing you. This also presents a good opportunity to hand them your resume on a good piece of quality paper. Resume paper is thicker and has a nice feel to it and that is what you want the interviewer to associate with you … a good feel. Later, when the hiring manager is reviewing your resume, you will stand out because of it and it provides you a better chance of getting a second interview or even better getting hired for the job.
5. Follow Up – It is always a good idea to follow up with the hiring manager and/or interviewer in some way after the job interview. If the hiring manager gave you their business card, make sure you use it. You can call them and ask a couple of follow up questions and thank them for the opportunity. Also, you should send them a thank you note email. If you didn’t get their business card, then just mail them a thank you letter. The main objective here is to remind the hiring manager about you. And the more they think about you, the better the chances you will get hired for the job. 


 

 


 

Seven Great Questions to Ask in a Job Interview

If you are going for an interview as a prospective employee then you should do some research. Read the job description and requirements carefully. 


1. What exactly would my day-to-day responsibilities be? It is essential that you clearly understand your role and the tasks that you would be expected to undertake. It is easy to make assumptions and get the wrong impression of what the work would be so it is vital for both sides that there is clarity in what is expected of you. If the interviewer cannot give a clear answer then this is a worrying sign, so politely follow up with more questions. Some people even ask to see exactly where they will sit.

2. What are the opportunities for training and career advancement? This question serves two purposes. It helps you to understand where the job might lead and what skills you might acquire. It also signals that you are ambitious and thinking ahead.

3. What is the biggest challenge facing the organization today? This sort of question takes the interview away from the detail and towards strategic issues. It allows to you see and discuss the bigger picture. It proves that you are interested in more than just the 9 to 5 aspects of the job. It can lead to interesting discussions that can show you in a good light - especially if you have done some intelligent preparation. If appropriate you can follow up this question with some questions about the objectives of the department and the manager who is interviewing you.

4. When did you join? After the interviewer has asked a number of questions about you it can make a good change to ask a gentle question about them. People often like talking about themselves and if you can get them talking about their progress in the company you can learn useful and interesting things. 

5. What are the criteria that you are looking for in the successful candidate for this position?The job advertisement may have listed what was wanted in a candidate but it is very useful to hear the criteria directly from the interview.The more that you can discover about what they want and how they will make the dicision the better placed you are to influence that dicision. 


6. How do you feel that I measure up to your requirements for this position? This follows on naturally from the previous questions. It may seem a little pushy but it is a perfectly fair thing to ask. In sales parlance this is a 'trial close'. If they say that you are a good fit then you can ask whether there is any reason you might not be offered the job. If they say that you are lacking in some key skill or attribute then you can move into objection handling mode and point out some relevant experience or a countervailing strength. 


7. Would you like to hear what I could do to really help your department? If you want the job then this is a great question to ask at the end of the interview. Most interviewers will reply, 'Yes.' Drawing on what you have learnt in the conversation, you can give a short sales pitch on why you fit the criteria and why your strengths and ideas will siginficantly assist the boss to meet their objectives. Make it short, direct and clear with the emphasis on the benefits for them of having you in the team. At the end ask something like, 'how does that sound?'

Many candidates take a passive role at the interview. They competently answer the questions that are put to them but they never take the initiative by asking intelligent questions that steer the interview in a helpful direction. If you are a proactive candidate who asks the sorts of questions given above then you will be seen as more dynamic and you will significantly increase your chances of being offered the job.