It is impossible to prepare too much for job interviews. You are under harsh scrutiny against fierce competition for a job in a difficult economy. No amount of preparation can guarantee you a job, which is why no amount of preparation can ever be truly “enough.” The more prepared you are, the better, and the longer you spend working on your interview skills, the more likely you are to succeed.
Still, if you are limited on time, here are ten quick and easily to implement interview tips for improving your job interview skills that will at least prepare you a little bit for the task ahead.
Quick Job Interview Tips
1. Be Engaging – If you take the lead in the interview process (introducing yourself first, etc.) you are far more likely to both be seen and feel confident and outgoing.
2. Focus Only on Your Professional Life – Even if the question appear as though they may be referring to your persona life (such as “what is your 5 year plan?), keep all answers focused only on your professional life.
3. Always Commit to the Company – It doesn’t matter if you plan on leaving in 3 years to start your own business. Act like this job will be the last job you will ever need.
4. Pay Attention to Every Question – Every job interview question the interviewer asks is important, even if it is “what do you think of the weather?” They are all about making a good impression.
5. Don’t Discuss Salary/Benefits – Wait until you have the job before you worry about what they pay you.
6. Don’t Be Negative – Every answer should be positive, even if you are asked what you didn’t like about a coworker or supervisor.
7. Maintain Good Body Language – Make eye contact throughout the job interview and do not slouch or use any bad posture or bad habits.
8. Keep Jokes to a Minimum – You don’t know what type of sense of humor the interviewer has. It is a bad idea to make any jokes that could be seen as offensive by someone that doesn’t have a sense of humor.
9. Think First – It is okay to take two or three seconds to think about your answer before you actually provide your answer. The last thing you want to do is ramble about something inconsequential.
10. Openly Integrate Accomplishments Into Answers – Whenever you answer a job interview question, find ways to integrate your achievements and knowledge into each answer. If you are asked to say something negative about yourself, integrate what you are doing to fix the flaw into the answer. While you should successfully answer every interview question, it is perfectly acceptable and preferable to add information that will help your employment chances, and you should do so at every opportunity.
Practice and You Will Be Even Better
The about list is a good resource for those that are in a rush to improve their interview skills. If you have time, however, it is a good idea to try to practice answering interview question as much as possible and utilize many useful job interview strategies.
Take Away Interview Tips
- Be confident and outgoing.
- Utilize proper interview answer strategies.
- Always remain professional.
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