18 Tips to Handle Any Job Interview Successfully

Interview Tips and Suggestions to Help You Get through Interviews:

Interviews have always been a nerve-racking experience. A situation where you are judged on your performance for a job. Everybody gets jitters when it comes to interviews. Relax! Don’t panic. You need to overcome the nervousness.

Job Interview Tips and Advice are applicable to any Jobseeker looking for a dream job.

Tips For Job Interview

Irrespective of whichever career path you want to choose, enlisted below are the best tips to help you land in your dream job.

#1) Always do your homework well before walking into an interview. Make sure you have complete knowledge of the company and the role.

Collect the basic facts about the company. This includes what kind of business they do, in what areas they operate, how old they are, etc.

Read the job description very carefully and see if you fit into the role. You should only apply for the job if the job description matches your profile.

Get to know about the company culture. To do this, you can check the reviews of the company over the Glassdoor website or you can visit the ‘About us’ section on the company’s website.

Also, identify some of the major competitors of the company and figure out what sets this company apart from its competitors.

#2) Know yourself. Remember that first impression is the last impression. Demonstrate your capabilities and qualities and how well you can serve them. Don’t be overconfident and aggressive. Research yourself, ask yourself what your objectives are, what short-term & long-term goals you have, know your CV and prepare your answers.

#3) You should know your competency and transferable skills. Competency skills are the skills matching your job profile and transferable skills are the ones that you have acquired through other jobs and personal activities.

Employers typically use some of the following as their key competencies:

• Teamwork
• Responsibility
• Commitment to career
• Commercial awareness
• Career motivation
• Decision-making
• Communication
• Leadership
• Trustworthiness & Ethics
• Results orientation
• Problem-solving
• Organization
• Top Technical Skills

#4) Social Networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin, etc. can be used for work opportunities and converse with other people to improve your interpersonal skills. You can learn a lot about the company over online networks and blogs. You can visit Linkedin company page, employee profiles, corporate blogs and accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

#5) Be clear about what you want to achieve in life as well as your career objective. It will keep you focused. You don’t have to do anything for the heck of it.

#6) Your CV plays a vital role for a successful interview.

Never bluff, include all your skills and experience to give you a competitive edge.

#7) Prepare well for an interview. You can make notes of interview questions that are most likely to be asked. Practice your answers. This will boost your confidence.

#8) Work on your communication skills. Remember that having good technical knowledge without effective interpersonal skills will not take you anywhere. Be expressive and a good conversationalist. Dazzle the interviewers with eloquent speech.

Top 10 communication skills for workplace success are:

1. Listening
2. Nonverbal communication
3. Clarity and concision
4. Friendliness
5. Confidence
6. Empathy
7. Open-mindedness
8. Respect
9. Feedback
10. Picking the right medium

#9) Make sure that you can support your strengths by giving examples. You can prepare before but don’t falter while talking. It will not create a good impression.

#10) When asked about your weaknesses, acknowledge them. If you are not able to describe your weaknesses, then it signifies that you lack self-awareness. You can’t be perfect at everything.

#11) Always be presentable while dressing for the interview. Your attire should be per the role, culture and yourself. No tacky or brash clothing or accessories. You don’t need to be glammed up.

=> Check out this link. It gives a very useful tip on dressing up for an interview for both men and women.

#12) Spend time on personal grooming. This will keep you calm. You don’t have to present yourself as a person full of nervous energy and fidgets.

#13) On the D day, relax. Be comfortable and wear a smile. Voila! you will definitely crack the interview.

#14) Your body language is very important.

Your facial expressions, hand movements, posture, voice, and pace should be in sync and send the same message that you want to convey.

#15) Don’t forget to make eye contact. Your voice should be enthusiastic and do not stammer. Lack of enthusiasm will put off the interviewers.

#16) Keep all your documents well organized in a folder. Also, be on time, preferably 15 minutes before, so that you get time to settle down and calm your nerves.

#17) Interview manners are very important. Mind your manners when it comes to interviews. Bad manners will definitely be a turn-off. Don’t bang the door, shake hands firmly, ask if you can take a seat, sit up straight and do not slouch.

Some basic interview manners include:

• Be prompt when responding to an interview request.
• Be on time for the interview.
• Bring all supporting materials/documents (as applicable).
• Keep your mobile phone on silent or switch off during the interview so that your full attention is there.
• At the closing, thank the interviewer for the time they spent interviewing you.

#18) When asked about Remuneration, you don’t have to be blunt. Instead, you can say that you expect a fair raise in terms of qualifications and experience proportionate with peers.

Conclusion

You have some good interview tips now. Be confident, gear up and don’t let yourself down. Remember this is not the end of life if you don’t get through to the process. It’s just an interview. Good Luck!

About the author: This article was written by STH team member Megha S – A Career Counselor.

Further Readings:

• 5 Common Interview Mistakes that Could Cost You Your Dream Job (and How to Avoid Them)
• What is the Best Moment in Your Testing Career? – Answers to Such 14 Interesting Software Testing Interview Questions
• How to prepare for software testing interview