If you’ve been invited to a job interview, you’re already on the right track. You’ve done an excellent job of presenting yourself on paper, and now it’s time to do it in person. To truly impress your interviewer, you must do your research, present the best version of yourself, and, most importantly, start strong.
Prospective Employers form an opinion about you within the first 10 seconds of meeting you, and they make their decision about your suitability for the job within the first 10 minutes.
You must do more than solely nail the first 10 minutes of the job interview; you must nail every step of the process.
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What is the interviewer looking for?
When attempting to keep the hiring manager’s favourable attention, it’s best to begin by understanding what piques their interest.
When interviewing a candidate, a hiring manager will look for the following characteristics:
Culture fit:
The potential employer will evaluate how well you fit into the company culture.
One way they might form an opinion is to find out if you’ve previously worked in similar environments, as well as to assess your overall demeanour and core values.
Managerial fit:
Because different supervisors have different management styles, the hiring manager will assess how you prefer to be managed and whether it aligns with your potential supervisor’s management style.
Core skills:
An interviewer will look closely at each of your core skills to ensure you are qualified for the job.
If you understand the role:
The hiring manager will also consider whether you have thoroughly reviewed the job description and whether you understand and are enthusiastic about the position.
If you are enthusiastic about the company:
They will assess your enthusiasm for the opportunity to work with the company in general.
Quick Tips for Making an Impression on Your Interviewer
Here are some quick and easy tips for impressing everyone you meet when interviewing for a new job.
Improve your handshake:
Don’t offer a shaky or sweaty hand.
Instead, offer a firm handshake with one or two pumps from the elbow to the hand when meeting with prospective employers or conducting interviews.
It’s a great way to demonstrate your confidence and get the interview started on the right foot.
Take it seriously:
If you approach your first interview with a company casually, especially with a screening interviewer from the human resources department, you may be sealing your fate.
Job seekers should approach each interview as if it were their only opportunity to sell themselves to the recruiter.
Get some practice:
If you are offered an interview for a job that you are not particularly interested in, go ahead and accept it; you can make contacts for future job opportunities and gain valuable interview practice.
Be zealous:
Attend your interview with a positive attitude.
Most interviewers will pass over someone who has a negative presence or appears to need to be talked into taking the job.
According to Alison Richardson, a recruiter for several New York financial firms, “you’re selling yourself,” and “part of you” is the positive attitude you’ll bring to work every day.
“Your friendly demeanour and smile go a long way.”
Perform thorough research on the interviewer.
While most candidates will research the company, you can stand out from the crowd by learning about the person you’ll be meeting with, including the types of behaviours that may catch their attention.
Before your interview, look up the interviewer on a professional networking site and read their bio. If at all possible, try to make a personal connection.
Then, prepare some questions for that interviewer, such as information about the organization’s focus, the interviewer’s speciality, or even common interests you both share.
Before the interview, speak with people from the company.
Make use of your friends and acquaintances to get an introduction to someone who works at the company before your interview.
Once you’ve been introduced to that person, invite them to an informational interview to learn more about the company before your formal interview.
This will allow you to walk into your interview fully prepared and demonstrate to everyone how interested you are in the position.
Explain why you want the job in detail.
After researching the company, you should understand its mission, key competitors, products and services, and target market.
Look for something you can bring up during the conversation to demonstrate your genuine interest in the opportunity.
This is also an excellent opportunity to demonstrate that you understand the role for which you are interviewing.
Familiarize yourself with the job description and discuss what the job entails and why, based on your background, you’re an ideal match.
Pose the following questions:
When interviewing for a new job, it is critical to have a list of questions ready to ask your prospective employer.
Some examples of questions might be: What do you consider to be the ideal background for the position? What are some of the significant challenges? What is the most important thing I can do to help during my first 90 days on the job?
Do you have any concerns that I should address to be the best candidate?
Narrate a story:
Your interviewer is interested in your skills and experiences, but he or she is also interested in learning about you.
Do not respond to the same questions in the same way.
Instead, incorporate your responses into stories or anecdotes about yourself. Attractive people are remembered.
Demonstrate your worth by tailoring stories to the primary concern an interviewer may have: What can you do for us?
Do not, under any circumstances, bring up the need for an immediate vacation. First and foremost, you are assuming that the recruiter wishes to hire you. Second, you are effectively removing yourself from the pool of candidates.
When we interviewed a job candidate, she immediately stated that she needed time off for a two-week honeymoon. We hadn’t even given her the job yet. We, of course, did not.
There are certain situations in which you will need to discuss pending scheduling conflicts, but the interview is not one of them.
Exhibit relevant experience:
The most acceptable way to demonstrate that you’re the right candidate is to demonstrate to the interviewer that you have the skills and experiences required for the position.
The best way to do so is to talk about specific experiences and accomplishments you’ve had in previous roles.
If you’re changing careers or industries, or if you’re just out of school, you can still accomplish this by providing examples of transferrable experiences to this position.
Convey that you’re easy to work with:
Because the potential employer will be determining whether you are a good fit for your potential supervisor’s managerial style, you can take some steps to demonstrate that you are easy to work with.
One way is to demonstrate that you are an excellent listener.
Make eye contact, ask questions, and provide thoughtful responses.
Inform the hiring manager that you value valuable criticism and enjoy learning new skills.
You can also directly ask the manager how they would describe the potential supervisor’s managerial style.
If their management style is similar to yours, you could say something along the lines of, “That’s fantastic!
I find that I get along well with managers who have [your preferred management style].”
Be memorable:
Given the number of job seekers interviewing for positions today, it is reasonable to assume that many HR professionals struggle to keep track of the distinctions.
That is why it is critical to do or say something that will set you apart from the crowd in the eyes of your interviewer.
It will strike a personal note while also serving as a reference point when the top candidates are called back.
Sure, the job candidate with “American Idol” experience we mentioned in the introduction had no actual relevant experience for the position we were looking for, but he was memorable.
Demonstrate that you have been paying close attention:
Thank the interviewer for providing information about the position, the company, and what it’s like to work there at the end of your interview.
Reemphasize your belief that your experience matches what they’re looking for in a candidate, and share that you have particular skills that they’re looking for, naming them.
This type of response demonstrates your professionalism while also demonstrating that you were paying attention during the interview.
