By Catherine Adenle
If you need a job or in search of new challenges, you need to explore how to impress at different types of job interviews. Your resume or CV gets you in the door of organizations, but it’s the interview that gets you the job. Showing up professionally, maintaining a positive attitude, being enthusiastic and successfully answering questions in a skillful manner are all essential to getting a job offer. If you already think of all these things, then, you know how to impress interviewers at different types of job interviews. All job interviews typically precede a hiring decision and often form part of the assessment centre process.
Practising interview questions and answers, dressing in appropriate interview attire, and, being able to present your skills and experience to a prospective employer will let you impress at different types of job interviews. First, it’s vital for you to be aware of the various types of job interviews that exist today. That way, you’re able to prepare effectively in order to ace any job interview.
Before delving into how to impress at different types of job interviews, let’s look at all the details of Behavioral Interviews, Group Interviews, Phone and Video Interviews, Second Interviews and Dining Interviews. For these types of interviews, About.com have provided full details via respective links as shown here:
For anyone, especially the inexperienced job seeker, an interview can be intimidating. However, winning at a job interview is not difficult as long as you know what to expect and how to impress at different types of job interviews.
Here’s how to impress at different types of job interviews:
1. Never show up late to any job interview. If you want to impress at different types of job interviews, you must show up 10-15 minutes early for your scheduled interview. In addition, dress neatly and appropriately. A basic suit that matches will suffice. Remove any facial piercings and keep your tattoos covered unless the job you’re seeking is at a Tattoo Parlour. Your tattoo may be your pride and joy but it may be objectionable. Although it may be unlawful for employers to deny you a job in some countries because of your tattoo and piercings, unfortunately, it can still happen. Why would you ruin your chance of a good job because you want to show off your tattoo? Worth a thought…bear in mind that the wrong first impression is very hard to undo so you need to do all you can to cement a positive first impression.
Then, once you enter the interview room, shake hands firmly, introduce yourself and with enthusiasm, smile, thank them for their time and for choosing to see you.
See 12 Ways to Make a Dazzling First Impression
2. Know the elements of your CV like the back of your hand. Know your CV from top to bottom. Read it inside out because nothing looks worse than for you to refer to it or read it in front of the interviewer when they ask you any question. If you have prepared it and it belongs to you, then you must know what is on there without any prompts.
3. Before your job interview, know everything you can about the organization, the product, services, news, details about the job you are after and the people who will interview you. This will help you to pitch your application and perform better at the interview, it will also help to demonstrate your match to the organisation’s culture and values. Use Google, LinkedIn, Glassdoor and What Are They Really Like (WATRL). These sites provide company information and employee reviews on salaries, working environments, along with other insights. Do a very sophisticated Advanced Google Search on the company. Take notes, write down a few questions that you have about the job and the office culture after the findings.
See The Ultimate Guide To Researching A Company Pre-Interview
To impress at different types of job interviews, the more insight you have about the position and the company for which you’re interviewing, the more relaxed and confident you will be during your interview regardless of the type of interview. Doing your homework in a thorough manner before the interview will help you to ace the job interview.
4. Take some extra copies of your CV and your career portfolio with you. With copies of your CV, have a pen and paper ready to take notes when they answer your own questions or mention anything that should be of high interest to you. Include a list of your carefully researched questions to ask the interviewers. Put all in a presentable folder.
Your career portfolio is a visual representation of your abilities, skills, capabilities, knowledge, accomplishments, qualities and it represents your potential. Physically, it’s a collection of things – tangible materials that represent work-related events in your life. In your career portfolio, have your professional and achievement certificates, thank you letters from your former or current employer, special thank you messages from your manager etc.
5. Showcase all the things on your CV by cleverly painting desirable career achievement pictures in words through your answers. Remember, your interviewers have already seen your CV. Now they want to see if it matches their expectations of your skills, personality and also know if you’re articulate about how you demonstrated your skills, accomplishments, goals and attributes in the past. So, work some of your answers to their questions in story forms (see STAR) – the situation or problem, the task you had to initiate, actions or activities you had to undertake to solve it, and the result it delivered. Prove your value and the value you can add by tailoring stories that address the issues an interviewer may have.
See Using the Star Technique to Shine at Job Interviews: a How-to Guide
6. Be attentive. When interviewing for a new position, it‘s essential to be attentive, remember interviewers names and maintain eye contacts especially if you are being interviewed by a panel. Breathe and take your time if necessary to answer the questions. There’s is no reward for answering quickly only to ramble or not answer the question properly.
7. Be positive throughout. Looking into how to impress at different types of job interviews means knowing that during any job interviews, you don‘t talk badly of your former or current employer, never badmouth your manager, discuss money or benefits issues first without being asked. Badmouthing anyone or anything will not get you a job. Organizations hate to hire moaners or whingers. Don‘t mention another career aspirations you are also pursuing by the side unless it relates to the job that you are seeking. Potential employers are looking for people who want to stay in their organization for a long time.
8. Don’t ramble. Avoid giving speeches when asked questions. Keep your answers clear and concise. If you don’t understand a question, don’t be afraid to ask them to rephrase or repeat it.
9. Prepare a list of likely questions and prepare your answers to them in advance, then practice. There are usually some standard interview questions you can expect. This is when you practice, practice, practice. Go online and download sets of potential interview questions and get answers to the questions. Study the questions carefully while you practice in front of the mirror or ask someone to read out the questions to you while they check your answers against each of the answers you wrote down. Practice until the answers roll off your tongue effortlessly. Practice them aloud.
See 50 Interview Questions and Answers: See Why They Are Asked
See Video: 11 Ways to Ace Any Job Interview
10. Be sure to ask questions of your own. A successful interview will feel more like a conversation than a one-sided interrogation. Ask for more detail about your potential role and the company. The more insightful and thoughtful the questions, the more interested you will appear in the company.
As well as highlighting a genuine interest in the job, asking questions will buy you some time to collect your thoughts while giving you an opportunity to take a deep breath or two. In fact, many interviewers consider the “do you have any questions” part of an interview to be very telling about potential employees work ethic and job expectations.
See Turn the Tables During a Job Interview: Ask Clever Questions
Think about why you want the job, and come up with good answers to some questions you’re likely to be asked.
After the interview, ask when the interviewer expects to have made a decision and if they will be contacting all applicants or only those who are hired. Make a point of following up via telephone 2 business days after your interview. Before leaving thank the interviewer again and shake hands. Smile and make eye contact as you leave.
To delve even deeper into various job interview guides, see the links below for various job interview articles and information as published By Alison Doyle of About.com on Guide to Job Searching:
How to Interview – Successful interviewing is essential to getting a job offer. That means practising interview questions and answers, dressing inappropriate interview attire, and, being able to present your skills and experience to a prospective employer.
Job Interview Tips – Job interviewing never seems to get any easier – even when you have gone on more interviews than you can count. Review these interview tips and suggestions so you can dazzle your potential employer and ace the interview.
Interview Questions / Answers – Questions you’ll be asked during an interview, along with recommended answers, behavioural interview questions, illegal interview questions, and sample questions to ask the interviewer.
Interview Attire – How to dress for an interview including advice on what, and what not, to wear on a job interview, appropriate interview attire, how to impress a prospective employer, and tips on dressing for success.
Thank You Letters – Writing a thank you letter, or thank you for an email, after an employment interview is a must. In fact, some employers think less of those interviewees who fail to follow-up promptly.
Interview Follow Up – Following up after a job interview can help you get a second interview or even a job offer. Here’s how to follow up after an interview, including who to contact and what to write or say.
References – References are more important to a job search than you might realize. Find out who you should ask for a recommendation letter, and how to best ask for their help.
Now that you know how to impress at different types of job interviews, nothing should stop you from going for your dream job. Feel free to share more tips with us by leaving your comment below.
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When you need to get hired but you even not finish your dissertation trust me, you dont need to employers anyway.
Thank you for the article! Regarding the topic also advise to read this one: http://eltoma-recruitment.com/2018/04/05/5-tips-for-showcasing-your-best-self-in-an-interview/