Career Interview Success

Your first task is to shift your mindset that you are going on an interview to select a company that meets your needs and goals. You are looking for additional information about the organization's mission, vision, stability and their plans for growth. After all, this is a career move and you must be strategic and logical in your moves into a position.

This position must have a path to your next position. This position must provide training and knowledge that will move your career forward. This position must utilize your skills and talents in order for you to gain expertise in your chosen field.

Whatever employment you are seeking, you have the choice to ensure that you can get all that you can from the organization. You are bringing to them your assets, skills and experience. Be prepared to ask for what you expect in exchange.

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Career interview success begins with thorough preparation. Although you will generally not know what questions you will be asked, you do know however, the organization bottom line is they want to get to get the best talent for their money. They want dedication, loyalty, hard work, timeliness, efficiency for starters. So, be prepared to illustrate what you will bring to the organization should you decide to accept their offer.

Here are some critical steps maximize your performance:

career interview tips

1. Learn varied types of job interviews

Understanding the dynamics of different types of interviews will help you know what to prepare by having examples of what to expect. This will ensure your confidence and balance if you must manage behavioral interview questions or worse arrive to a panel interview when you are expecting a traditional one-on-one meeting!

2. Due diligence about YOU

One of the most effective ways to prepare for an interview is to thoroughly review your own credentials. Becoming an expert on all aspects of your skills and experience will establish you as credible. You will also present as knowledgeable as  you speak fluently and confidently about your qualifications. This may seem obvious but it is worth mentioning as I have interviewed so many people who failed to know dates, job titles and could not verbalize their job descriptions or functions in their previous roles. Know your stuff.

3. Review the most common interview questions

Most one-on-one meetings follow a common line of questioning. Look at the most common questions you may be asked, and learn how to answer them. Think of yourself as a business owner or executive making the hire. If this were your organization and you were interviewing you for a position, what would you want to know about you? Your skills? Your values? Your goals? Your previous work history? Your ability to think critically? Whether or not you can attend meetings out of town? Whether or not you can attend meetings on time? Are you comfortable speaking in public? Are you a leader? Can you manage a team? Are you organized? Are you efficient? How do you plan and manage your time? Do you prefer to work independently or do you soar when working within a group? Are you a team player? How well do you take feedback and directives? Are you fair and reasonable? Are you friendly or no-nonsense?

Of course you probably will not be asked all of the questions during your interview, however, if you are meeting with a leader like me, you will inadvertently give hint to each of these questions through the course of our conversation. So be prepared!

4. A positive attitude is a must keep

Few things carry us in life as much as a positive attitude. Look and feel in good spirits before your meeting. Get a good nights rest, enjoy a healthy meal, make sure you rise early and leave the house early in order to ensure a stress-free leisure commute to to landing your new career opportunity.

Use positive thoughts and language during your interview. At all costs avoid negative comments about personal issues or previous employers. You must present yourself as a positive asset to the interviewer. It is critical to speak positively about your experiences, even if they were not favorable or you were unhappy with some of your situations. Refrain from dwelling on negative experiences or unkind opinions or judgment about your former organization or manager. No organizations wants a tattle tale or whiner on their team, stay focused on the purpose of your meeting and what you expect to gain from it. Stay optimistic and remain in a state of positivity.

5. Dress for success

First impressions matter. Make sure you dress in a professional manner, regardless of the type of job you are applying for. If the position you are applying for is not a suit-and-tie position, consider business casual attire. Why is this important? Because leaders look to hire future leaders! Demonstrate that you have a leader within will establish you on the course to  career planning before you even get the job. Again, this may seem obvious, but please make sure whatever you wear is clean, fresh and sharp to get the attention of the interviewer that you too are clean, fresh and sharp!

6. Body Language

Your body does not know how to lie. Your body unconsciously says everything that your mouth may not ~ learning to control it is important to ensure all of you is sending the same message. You must make sure that your non verbal language is not contradicting your verbal language. Your eye contact, blinking, head nods, smiling, head shaking, arm and leg positions, posture, body spacing are all relevant message senders. Your awareness to them is key to your  sending a successful cohesive message.

7. Your Entrance set the stage
Always enter the room with the notion of landing a career. Walk through the door with the posture, a smile and a handshake that says, "Thank you, I will accept the offer!"  This shift in your approach will set you apart from all other applications before you even speak a word.  The other applicants are entering the room looking to be chosen, you are entering the room as the one doing the choosing. The organization is in need of what you possess and no one but you can deliver YOU!
Grab your journal. Get to know you.
1. What type of interviews do you perform best? Practice all others!
2. Write job functions and duties of your former positions. Know even the stuff you only saw on your annual reviews.
3. Understand you. Answer each of these questions and any others that you would want to know. As long as their legal human resource approved questions, of course.
4. Write out your schedule for the big day. Start with the previous night ~ visualize and document every detail all the way up to you accepting the job offer - if you so choose!
5. What are you going to wear? What do you feel most comfortable in? What is your best color? What can you wear that speaks volumes about who you are and what greatness you have to offer? Leadership, authority, hard worker,  trustworthy are a few examples of what image you may want to portray. You decide.

Go to the forum and share you best and worst interviewing experience. I promise, we will laugh with you!
Let's talk about it at The Ten Faces Forum!