Your great CV, amazing cover letter, impressive course work and skills have landed you a job interview. Well, that’s as far as they’ll get you! Getting the actual offer comes from successfully doing the interview!
We at Bayt.com are here to help! There are some basic rules of a job interviews that can cast you in a favorable light and leave a strong impression with potential employers or actually be the reason why you never hear back from a company! Here are the top dos and don’ts in job interviews.
You can’t go to a job interview without completing your homework; learn about the company, read about the company’s work, history, products and services, departments and even try to learn more about the job role’s responsibilities.
Make sure you’ve prepared a list of good questions to ask your interviewer at the end. Pay attention throughout the interview, so you’ll have questions related to what the hiring manager talked about. This shows that you’re actively listening.
What you choose to wear communicates a lot about who you are and how you want others to see you. Dress smartly, look bright and attentive, and speak clearly and confidently. First impressions really do count. Here’s a guideline to what to wear for different industries.
I am not saying you have to be an hour early, just make you arrive around 10 minutes early. Arriving too early can be awkward and arriving to late is a big NO! If you want to ensure arriving on the right time, you can go earlier and hang around a near coffee place till it’s time to go in!
Be aware of how you’re carrying yourself during an interview, because your posture, eye contact, and relaxed position can impress your interviewer. Remember to sit still and straight and don’t fidget. Here are more body language tips to help.
Don’t rely on your application or CV to do the selling for you. No matter how qualified you are for the position, you will need to personally sell yourself to the interviewer.
Don’t. Freak. Out. The worst thing you can do is to clam up when you don’t know an answer, because you won’t be able to think clearly and may throw out a bad answer in panic. If you can’t make it through an interview without crumbling, the interviewer is unlikely to believe you’ll be able to withstand the rigors of a normal job.
I know, salary and compensation are very important factors for you, but hold off until you get the job offer. Your interviewer wants to see what you can do for the company, not what’s in it for you.
A rule of thumb; never, ever lie! Lies can easily be caught because, if for example, you made something up, you won’t be able to talk at length about it without slipping up, and if that happens, you can say goodbye to any chance you had of getting the job!
While some interviewers may seem like your long-lost best friend, they aren’t! It’s OK to be friendly, but you’re still trying to make a good impression. Don’t be too relaxed or you may slip up and do something that’s unprofessional.
