Lately, you’ve been scooping up job interviews. It’s for sure an excellent confidence booster getting invited for interviews. Although, you may not feel confident 100% of the time.
It’s only natural that you feel a little bit of self-doubt creep in every once in a while. Allow that self-doubt to motivate you through. You have what it takes to succeed in an interview!
Your excellent resume and powerfully written cover letter have gotten you this far. So, it’s up to you to take it from here and work your magic when meeting with the company!
Check out these tips and apply them so that you’ll impress the socks off the interviewers.
1. Dress the Part
Your priority should always be to dress the part for an interview.
What you wear says a lot about you, so go the length to make sure you look professional. It would help if you arrived wearing business attire.
Business attire includes wearing professional clothes like suit jackets and slacks.
A man may choose to couple a suit jacket and slacks with a shirt and tie. Women may opt to wear dress pants with a blouse or a professional dress.
Whatever professional attire you decide to wear, wear it with confidence. And, don’t forget to style your hair and wear makeup, too, if you’d like.
A quick tip is to keep hair out of your eyes. Otherwise, it’s distracting if you have to push your bangs aside throughout the interview.
2. Practice Ahead of Time
Practice makes perfect! You may tend to get anxious and tongue-tied during an interview. If so, practicing beforehand can make a difference.
Ask a friend or another professional to role play with you. For example, they can ask you typical interviewing questions like what are some of your strengths. Questions like these will get you thinking and force you to come up with answers ahead of time.
Knowing how to answer questions should help keep your anxiety at bay. You’ll feel much more prepared having practiced with a friend.
3. Go Into the Interview Having Knowledge of the Company
The more knowledge you have of the company you’re interviewing for, the better! Nothing impresses a hiring manager more than you showing extensive knowledge of their company.
Now, you can’t possibly know everything ahead of time. You’ll learn a lot during the interview! But you can research online and find out more information.
See if you can learn more about the employees you may be working with. Checking out company employees on Linked-In can help with that. Also, brush up on the services the company provides. You should know what other departments do and not just the department you’d be a part of.
Also, reading articles about the company and its accomplishments can help you gain insight into their work culture.
As you do your detective work, write down questions you may have, which we will discuss next as a little bonus!
4. Ask Questions
Remember that an interview is a two-way street. Not only are they interviewing you, but you’re interviewing them!
Of course, you should always be courteous. But asking them a series of questions shouldn’t put them off. It should impress them. You’re taking the time to care enough to find out more details. Asking job-appropriate questions will put you ahead of other candidates who don’t do this.
So, think about what questions you may have for the company. For example, you may want to learn more about their work culture. Or, you may want more information about who you would be working with every day.
Don’t be shy about asking questions. You must make sure the job is a good fit for you both!
5. Pay Attention to Your Non-Verbals
Throughout the interview, paying attention to your non-verbal communication is vital.
Examples of positive non-verbal communication include:
- Maintaining good eye contact
- Having good posture
- Engaging in conversation and asking questions
- Using an appropriate voice tone
- Paying attention to your facial expressions
Below, we dive into each non-verbal a little bit more in-depth:
Maintain Good Eye Contact
Having good eye contact shows an interviewer you’re confident rather than unsure. Now, you don’t want to make them uncomfortable by staring the entire time. But looking at them while they’re speaking conveys you’re zeroing in on what they have to say.
If you look away or are fidgeting, it can appear as if you don’t care. That’s the last thing you want to happen when you’re trying to win over a hiring manager!
Have Good Posture
No one likes seeing a person who slouches in their chair during an interview. It can give off the vibe that you’re nonchalant about the position. Besides, slouching is bad for your posture!
Make it a priority to sit up straight and maintain good posture. Nothing says you’re confident more than sitting up straight!
Engage in Conversation
As we discussed earlier, being conversational during an interview is essential. Therefore, you should ask questions about the job and be conversational in general.
If it’s appropriate, try to connect with the hiring manager. They may mention they like to do half-marathons, for example. If you enjoy running as well, then weave that into the conversation.
Engaging with the interviewer lets them know that you’re a friendly and outgoing person.
Pay Attention to Your Facial Expressions
Your facial expressions are another critical aspect of an interview. Smiling and being happy is something you should strive to do. Plus, smiling is contagious. It’ll no doubt make the person interviewing you happy too and feel at ease in your presence.
Conclusion
Even if you have interviews that don’t go well doesn’t mean you should get discouraged. There are always ways to improve and up your game for future interviews!
Continue to perfect your cover letter and resume. For instance, writing about your skill set and previous work experience in a cover letter is vital. If you’re a doctor, for example, Physicians Thrive provides excellent tips on how to craft the perfect cover letter. So be sure to personalize each cover letter and resume, too, depending on the job you’re applying for!
No interview will go perfectly, so cut yourself some slack throughout the process. But, in time you’ll land the perfect job. And, it’ll be because you took time to master interviewing techniques like these!
