5 Things to Consider When You Are Preparing for a Job Interview – Arnie Fertig

Anticipate the sort of questions this specific employer is likely to ask you and practice reciting answers before your interview.

How do you see the job for which you are applying? Does it represent a needed paycheck or a valued opportunity to utilize your knowledge, skills and experience to make a difference? Is it a steppingstone to something else, or is it your ultimate dream job?

In order to land your ideal position, you need to go beyond the minimal investment of time and effort and instead reach for new levels of personal insight and interview preparedness.

[See: 25 Best Business Jobs for 2017.]

Here are five things to consider when preparing yourself for job interview success:

Take time to think about what it would mean if you were to land the job. How does this job meld with the overall arc of your career? Be sure you understand in your own head why this job makes sense for you, and why it makes sense for the employer to want to hire you. This means delving a lot deeper than just “It’s a really cool company,” or “I really need a job now and this one will give me the paycheck I need to pay the rent.”

What is the story of your career to date? What common threads are there among your current and former jobs, and how does this opportunity fit with the rest? This is the story that your interviewer needs to understand.

Use the employer’s products or services. Be prepared to talk about how your potential employer makes life easier, boosts productivity, helps the earth or whatever it is they do. You can then be certain to say something like, “I’ve used your company’s products and was really impressed with them because …” or “I’d love to be involved with your company because you have such positive business values.”

[See: 10 Ways to Perfect Your Personal Brand.]

Anticipate questions and practice your answers out loud. Standard interview books will prep you for the “Tell me about yourself,” and “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” questions. But that’s just the beginning.

Beyond that, you should be prepared to expand on any bullet point on your resume into a concise but descriptive story.

Especially if you aren’t accustomed to interviewing, it’s not enough to know that these questions will be posed. Have a spouse, partner or friend toss you one question after another. And if you don’t have someone to work with you, practice your answers standing in front of a mirror looking yourself in the eye.

Mind your body language and posture. Interviewers are trained to gain insights about your emotions and attitude by carefully examining your body language. If you slouch in your seat, don’t look your interviewer in the eye, have your arms crossed in front of you, continually look down or stare at the beautiful view out the window, he or she will likely conclude that you aren’t interested, are too relaxed, too defensive, too nervous or are simply not present in the moment. Even if you have the right set of skills and achievements, you’ll likely be passed over.

[See: 7 Excellent Sales and Marketing Jobs for 2017.]

Take a moment to think about the answers before you give them. One of the biggest errors job seekers make is to speak without forethought. It is fine to take a breath or two before you answer any question. Remember to speak clearly, neither whispering nor demonstrating your angst. If you are overprepared, you are likely to blurt out rehearsed answers to questions that aren’t asked, rather than keying in on what your interviewer is really interested in hearing from you.

It is fine to ask for clarification if you aren’t 100 percent certain what a question is asking. And, rather than go on with a long answer to a question, stop after a few sentences and ask if this is the direction the interviewer is intending that you take. If not, make a mid-course correction to prevent interviewer boredom.

Of course, there are many other fine points for interview preparation. But if you make certain to walk in with a broad understanding of yourself and how you represent a strong solution to an employer’s needs, you’ll likely be starting your new job soon.

Happy hunting!

Reprinted from: US News Careers – http://money.usnews.com – 4.4.17