| Nothing is more feared or more misunderstood in the | | | | 3. Research the person who will interview you. Simply |
| job search process than interviewing. People tend to | | | | searching for the person's name is usually enough and |
| conjure up all their fears and insecurities when an | | | | if they are in LinkedIn that may be all you need to do! |
| interview is requested and sometimes the level of | | | | Study their background and especially look for anything |
| anxiety is so high it actually sabotages the interview. | | | | you may have in common with them. |
| A certain level of nerves is good. Any athlete will tell | | | | 4. Read your own resume and be ready to talk about |
| you that being a little nervous "tunes" us up for the | | | | your career accomplishments by telling stories. Stories |
| competition and sharpens our "edge." However, in an | | | | are very powerful ways to explain what you can do |
| interview situation we do not want appear so nervous | | | | for a company. Use the SAR model - Situation, Action, |
| that it detracts from our ability to present a | | | | and Results - to help guide you and don't talk too much |
| professional image. That is where careful preparation | | | | about a single accomplishment. Two or three minutes |
| comes in. | | | | is more than enough. |
| When we are well-prepared, we can present a | | | | 5. Prepare two or three substantive questions about |
| relaxed and polished image and are less likely to get | | | | the company based on your research about the |
| flustered by unexpected questions. Always keep in | | | | company. Questions like "Where do you see the |
| mind that the interviewer already thinks you are | | | | company going over the next few years?" or "Do you |
| qualified for the job or you would have gotten the | | | | have plans for any new products or services?" or |
| interview! | | | | "What do you think is the key to the company's |
| Here are six steps to effective interview preparation: | | | | success?" are god questions that will position you as a |
| 1. Research the company. Make sure you know what | | | | strong candidate. |
| the company does, who their customers are, and how | | | | 6. Be ready with a 30-second "commercial" in answer |
| they are doing. If they are a publicly traded firm, | | | | to the possible invitation to "tell me about yourself." |
| reading the most recent Annual Report is very helpful. | | | | Write it out and practice it frequently. The commercial |
| Running a search on Google for the company usually | | | | should talk more about what you can do than who |
| turns up loads of information about any firm. | | | | you are. |
| 2. Download and study everything you can find about | | | | Finally, be very clear that every interview is a selling |
| the specific job position for which you are interviewing. | | | | opportunity. The potential customer is the employer |
| If the job was published, study the job description | | | | and you are the commodity that you are trying to "sell". |
| thoroughly and be sure to read between the lines. If | | | | Make sure the interviewer knows what you can do |
| there is no specific job description, then analyze the | | | | for her firm and stay focused on the needs and |
| firm's most likely needs and think about how you an | | | | priorities of the interviewer, not your own. |
| help them with their business objectives. | | | | |