1. Practice – Conduct Mock Interviews! How will you ever get good at something if you don’t practice it? Professional interviews can be hard in this regard because you often never receive feedback from the potential employers that are interviewing you. The feedback that you would receive from an interviewer is often critical for you to maximize your own performance on future interviews. In order to get this feedback the best thing you can do is either film yourself answering questions or perform a mock interview! A mock interview will allow someone to provide constructive feedback in a real-world scenario. Use a friend or family member to help you out by conducting the interview and help provide you feedback.
2. Research – Two key things you need to know about prior to going into the interview. The first is the company itself! Now you don’t need to know all the fine details of the company but you should at least know what it is they do and where they are located. A quick Google search will tell you some of the latest news that has been released from the company and will help you find their corporate website which should tell you everything you need to about what they do. The second thing is the interviewer! If you happen to know who the interviewer is, you can either search them on the corporate website or through Linkedin. If you find them, it would be good to research their background and what they have done in their career. This will help you form a bond with the interviewer.
3. RELAX – The best thing you can do in an interview is be yourself! You can’t do that if you are stressed or tired. One of the best things you can do before an interview is to do something relaxing for you (such as a bath!) and to have a solid nights rest (8-9 hours). This will give you the focus and calm mind needed to ace your interview!
4. Reflect on your skills – Before going into the interview its best to research the job description and read exactly what you put on your resume when you replied! Often times interviewers will simply go through your resume and ask questions based on things you wrote about.
5. Prepare Questions – If you have done Tip #2 properly, you should have questions! Write these down and remember them. By asking well articulated questions to your interviewer it will show how well prepared you are which is a very desirable trait for candidates that is hard to demonstrate!
6. Dress to Impress – Prior to your interview, make sure to pick out the suit or dress that you want to wear the night before! Make sure everything is prepared and ready to go. The last thing you want before an interview is frantically trying to find the perfect outfit for the day.
7. Be on Time – If you are prepared you will be on time. That means double checking when the interview has been scheduled and where your interview is! Being late is often the worst first impression you can give when applying for a job.
Need help with mock interviews? Or preparing for an interview? UniExplore’s professional staff is here to help you every step of the way. Talk to one of our associates (info@uniexplore.com) for a consultation today!