Congratulations on securing a job interview! I know how hard you’ve worked to even get to this point in the recruitment process! After the initial excitement, job interview stress can kick in. Don’t despair! Whether you are working with a recruiter or preparing for an interview through your own job search efforts, the 5 tips below will help ease your stress by helping you focus on how to effectively prepare and boosting your confidence about your upcoming interview.
Five fail-safe tips to boost your confidence and prepare you for any style of Interview!
1. INTERVIEW DETAILS & MODE:
- Put a reminder in your phone calendar and double check the date and time and time zones if applicable.
- Different States & Territories in Australia have different times due to Day Light Savings. If your interviewer is located in a different State, or internationally, check a World Clock Meeting Planner.
- If you’re having a face-to-face interview, make sure you know the exact interview location and how much time it usually takes to get to there and how easy or hard it is to get parking at the time of day.
- Have the Recruiters or Interviewers number in your phone. Delays and events beyond our control can and do happen on the day of an interview. Its courteous to call or text your Recruiter or the interviewer if you have been delayed or running late.
- Where possible leave a 15-20 minute buffer before your interview time to get into the right frame of mind for your interview. Do something that relaxes and puts you in a good frame of mind. It might be listening to your favourite music, doing a few yoga poses, taking a brief walk or having coffee at a cafe.
Is your Interview Virtual by Video or Phone?
- Look up the interviewer’s profiles, work experience and backgrounds on their LinkedIn profile. This shows an interest in your interviewer and can help to build rapport.
- Scroll the businesses Facebook or Instagram pages. This can also give you an insight into their workplace culture and prompt you to ask questions about news or events they have recently been involved with.
- If you have long term aspirations to progress within a field, are you keeping across the latest news through industry newsletters, company newsletters of businesses or companies you would like to work for?
- Are you following thought leaders in your fieldon social media? This is a great way to receive updated articles and blogs from specialists in your field or industry.
- Setting up google news alerts is another smart way of keeping informed and update and allowing the news to come to you!
2. WHO IS INTERVIEWING YOU? Is it with one decision maker or an interview panel? This is the time to ask your recruiter or the person confirming your interview the names of all interviewers and their role titles.
3. COMPANY CULTURE & CHOOSING APPROPRIATE INTERVIEW ATTIRE: The next critical thing to find out what the company or organisations culture is, the business structure, and will the interview be formal or casual? A good recruiter should know about their Client’s company culture, business structure and the nature of the interview. If dealing with the interviewer directly, ask these questions as this can save you valuable time preparing. This will determine your outfit choice. Is a suit suitable or shirt with or without a tie appropriate? Should you pull out that vintage pencil skirt or wear jeans and t-shirt? If you feel shy asking the person arranging your interview, another good tip is calling their receptionist later and asking them to give you an idea of what is appropriate dress code around their office.
4. RESEARCH & BUILDING INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:
The research phase is homework that can start well before you start job seeking or even get to an interview, and its information gathering of a deeper nature that could set you apart during the interview process. A candidate that is well researched across their industry, isn’t the one that necessarily has the most experience, but is aware of what and how their designated industry is changing. It’s better to be over prepared than underprepared for an interview. First interviews are usually about establishing rapport and potential fit for the role, team and company culture and assessing the depth of your skills and experience in relation to the job vacancy.
Job interviews requireresearching beyond simply reviewing a company’s website. Here are some other ways to gather information and really impress the interviewer with a deeper level of knowledge and enthusiasm about the job you are interviewing for.
- Set up access to video conferencing Account such as ZOOM, Microsoft Teams, Skype or the appropriate platform that the interviewer is using,well in advance. If you already have an account set up, is your username professional sounding?
- Use your name and don’t get too creative with your email address or username – keep it professional sounding First & Last name is fine. No need to complicate things from the get-go!
- If you’re feeling nervous about your interview via Zoom or video, a great little tip is to practice a mock interview in front of a mirror, test out the video conferencing function or even record yourself for a short duration. What you want to look out for is your tone of voice, your posture and even assess the background you have chosenfor your Zoom or video interview. Clutter or mess in the background is not a good first impression!
5. INTERVIEW DAY CONFIDENCE: The best advice I can give any candidate is to feel confident as you walk into an interview. Remember you were invited to interview because your resume and cover letter show you have potential. The hiring manager wants to get to know you, to hear more about your experiences listed on your resume and assess your cultural fit for the role and team. I also cannot stress enough that it’s so important to be enthusiastic before, during and after your interview. Interviewers are not only assessing your answers, but they are also searching for the right fit for their team dynamic. How you greet the receptionist, the friendly smile in the elevator trip up to the office can all be character building. Have confidence in yourself, let your positive side of your personality shine through and believe that you’re capable of landing this job!
If you’re still feeling nervous about an upcoming interview after reading this article, please reach out to Christine for a free 15 minute phone interview coaching consultation.
