How To Interview For A Job: 5 Stupidly Simple Tips To Get YOU Hired

LANDON LONG

Learning how to interview for a job is more of an ongoing process than a cut and dry ‘class is in session’ type thing. The knowledge you pick up as you learn how to interview for a job over the course of an occupation search furthers you along the road to success. However, while experience is the best teacher it helps to have an ace up your sleeve. Review these five stupidly simple tips on how to interview for a job and be ready to score big.

Presentation- Understanding how to interview for a job comes with accepting that attitude is certainly factored in by future employers. Carry yourself in a professional manner. Don’t put your feet up on the desk of the hiring manager. That’s an assured way to find yourself continually unemployed. Act professional when looking to become a professional.
Packaging- As you learn how to interview for a job you’ll notice that appearance plays a big part. It’s sad but true that looks sometimes factor in to the hiring process. This isn’t so much of a beauty contest as a fashion show. While it may seem shallow to say this, dress your best when you’re just starting to learn how to interview for a job. Even if your job may be down at the local mall strike a pose by dressing to the nines.
Body Language- While you may be as eloquent as Cicero when answering all the questions that are thrown your way during an interview. Nowever, the responses can be rendered meaningless if your body language is off. A great deal of communication is non-verbal. Learn how to interview for a job by controlling your reactions. Rehearsing how to answer the typical interview questions is fine and all, but you need to sell it. Sweating bullets sometimes cannot be helped but if you’re crossing your arms and shaking your head as you answer every question you might as well be signaling that everything you’re saying is a lie.
Assertiveness- Being passive as you learn how to interview for a job may seem natural because you are the one on trial when applying for a job. You are the one being interviewed. However, demonstrate your eagerness for this job by being assertive. Ask questions. Follow up with open ending responses. Show that you want to work there by taking an interest in the job environment.

Humility- While promoting yourself is great as you learn how to interview for a job, doing so with a bit of humility can be quite endearing. No one likes a pompous jerk. Don’t be that person in your interview. Ask questions but don’t turn the tables on the hiring manager. Be respectful.

Just remember to mind your Ps and Qs when on an interview. You really only get one shot at making this impression. Make sure it’s a good one. Keep these tips in mind as you learn how to interview for a job.

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Tags: interview for a job

Tags: interview for a job
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Interview Practice Makes Perfect Sense

LANDON LONG

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Interview practice might make you feel like you’re playing in the land of make-believe. You shouldn’t feel silly though because interview practice is smart, not silly.

Ask for the help of a good friend or family member and prepare (or better yet, have them prepare) a list of sample interview questions then sit down together and go through them. Interview practice will help you perfect your answers to basic interview questions and help you think of things before the interview so that you’re not sitting there trying to come up with good answers. Your friend might even have suggestions to help you improve your answers.

If you’re too shy to practice with someone in person or you don’t have anyone that will sit down with you, see if they’ll do it over the phone. Make interview practice into a fun game if you want. Ask your friend to track down the most unique interview questions they can, and you do the same. Whoever comes up with the wildest, wackiest interview questions wins! It also makes your interview practice lots of fun as you try to seriously answer some of the questions.

Interview practice is a great idea but make sure that you don’t overdo it to the extent that your answers sound rehearsed. If you sound like you’re reading off of a note card, the interviewer might ask you to return to the 8^th grade science fair before trying to work for them. Robotic answers are just going to sound rehearsed, and although that’s what interview practice is, you don’t want to sound like you spent hours trying to get it right (even though you may have done just that!)

A method of interview practice that I think is a good idea is using a tape recorder. Print yourself a list of some common and uncommon interview questions and rattle them off to yourself. Try to speak exactly how you would if you were being asked that particular question in an interview. Then, play back your interview practice tape and see how you sound. You should be able to pinpoint things you need to work on. You can also build off of your answers to try to make them bigger and better. Just erase the tapes after you’re done. It would be a little embarrassing if you use that tape recorder at work your new job and someone stumbles upon it one day. You don’t want to acquire a new nick name or be the joke of the workplace.

When all else fails, do some interview practice in the mirror. Learn the way your facial expressions work when you speak. Make sure that you’re not making any funny faces and that you appear professional. This is one time when talking to your reflection will not make you certifiably insane. Just don’t go overboard. Remember you don’t have to look “cute” delivering your answers; the mirror is just there to help you with your interview practice.