Don’t Take Chances with Your Interview, Use these Super Strategies
Richard Penfold
“Connect” with the interviewer
Though I try not to regularly make my mind up upon the suitability of a person in the first three minutes of an interview. The initial impression is very important; therefore you must work on a few basics. Clearly you must arrive on time, smartly dressed, clean and tidy. Its important when first meeting your interviewer to make eye contact, smile warmly as you greet them courteously, with a firm (but not crushing or weak) handshake. It’s OK to feel nervous, but you should feel confident after the preparation you have done. On initial meeting interviewers are looking for friendly, confidence, with a general appearance that matches that of the other employees. Simple as this may seem, it’s vital to get this right.
Eye Contact is vital
Making positive eye contact is one of the best job interview strategies to follow. Eye contact is one of the strongest forms of nonverbal communication. A person's qualities and personality can be detected simply based on eye contact. Making direct eye contact communicates confidence and high self-esteem, two key qualities employers look for in candidates. Thus, it is very important that you make eye contact when you first meet interviewer and shake hands. And during the interview, it is important to make eye contact, not only when you talk, but also as you listen. Simply doing this job interview strategy will greatly help your chances of success in an interview.
Body language
Just as eye contact speaks volumes about you, so does your body language. Proper body language conveys confidence and high self-esteem. During the interview, things like sitting up straight with your chest out and keeping a pleasant demeanour on your face will project confidence. The interviewer will be aware of this, and it will help you stand out in his/her mind.
Relax and be yourself
A common mistake that many candidates make is not being they. Some feel that they need to fit a certain style and act accordingly. This will only end up hurting both parties in the end when your "true" personality comes out. You will be surprised how easy it is to detect insincerity during an interview. Thus, it is important to be professional, but also maintain your true essence. When you do this, your sincerity and genuineness will be picked up by the interviewer. This is one of the best job interview strategies to implement, and will go a long way in determining your success.
Learn how to answer interview questions properly
Job Interviews when reduced down are about answering and asking questions. And many people don’t know how to answer questions properly in an interview situation. Employing somebody is a “buying decision”, which requires both logical and emotional criteria to be met before they hire. In other words they have to feel that you can do the job (logical) and will be a good fit with the team (likable, an emotional driver). Logical can again be boiled down into one word “efficiency”, because efficiency stands for more profit, reduced costs, more sales, improved customer care amongst others. Therefore it is important you can convey how efficient you are in a likable way. Executed correctly and in a likeable way you’ll be on the shortlist, if not getting an offer on the spot. The secret to delivering your answers in a “likable” way is to wrap your answers in true life experience “stories”. Stories are an age old way of passing information, and done properly are informative, fun and most importantly memorable.
Its vital that you follow up Once you’ve completed the interview, waste no time in sending the interviewer a courteous thank you note. These days, an email is fine, but traditionally a handwritten card is sent. Whatever method you choose, do it promptly after the interview. Ideally correspondence should be sent the next day after the interview. Many hiring decisions are made quickly these days, so timeliness is very important. All that remains to say is to wish you the very best of job seeking luck, not that you will need it with these strategies.
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