I’d like to give some tips to help you pass the interview and get the job. For one this is a test, for others a chance, for the third – a game. But everybody passed through this in their life at least once. This article will give you some valuable advice on the preparation and passing the interview during the employment process.
Conduct informational study
If you paraphrase a famous aphorism, you can say: the one who owns the information controls the situation in the interview. Before heading to the office, find out:
- With whom will you talk: with the head, the head of the personnel department or an ordinary employee;
- interview format (group or individual, question-answer, or self-presentation);
- the dress code and the things that need to be in possession (documents, gadgets, etc.);
- how to get there (being late is unacceptable).
This can be found out at the company’s website or call their office.
Make a map of answers to common questions
Mainly all the job interviews are pretty similar and at the same time not similar in some details. Many have heard about the stressful interviews, where the interviewer can suddenly start screaming at an applicant to knock him out of the rut. There are also so-called case-interviews, in which the applicant is placed in certain circumstances (for example, a conversation with a disgruntled customer) and watched how they will solve the problem. By the way, if you download the guide by Bob Firestone [2019 7th Ed.], then passing the job interview will be very easy. I tested personally this manual and very happy with the results.
Not always it is easy to find out what type of interview is preferred in a particular company, so you have to be ready for anything. To do this, create the card with answers on common questions and requests:
- top 5 of your main skills;
- what you are good at;
- the strategic direction of self-development;
- proposals to the company work offer;
- your life and work philosophy;
- your short term and long term goals;
- unusual tasks that you had to deal with.
Also, it is necessary to prepare in advance a list of topics that you would like to discuss with the personnel manager.
Interpret the employer’s questions
“A” does not always mean “A”, and two by two is not always four. Recruiters often ask tricky questions, where behind a simple formulation lies a cunning plan – to force the applicant to say more than they should.
A simple question: “What kind of salary do you want to get?”. But the answer helps the interviewer understand your motivation: money, social security, working hours and so on. If you are asked whether you ever had a conflict with the management and how you resolved them, then most likely, HR-manager wants to know if you are inclined to take responsibility or used to transfer it to others. And there’re lots of other tricky questions. You must be able to see the “double bottom” (without fanaticism!).
Think about your non-verbal behavior
HR-managers are the same people, not machines. They, like everyone else, pay attention to the nonverbal signs: appearance, facial expressions, gait, gestures and so on. Experienced professionals can be refused only because they behaved improperly.
Think in advance of body language. If due to stress your leg twitches, try to sit cross-legged. If you knock your fingers on the table, try to switch it to something different, for example, a ballpoint pen.
HR-managers are the same people, not machines. They understand that you are worried. But naturalness in non-verbal communication will enhance the credibility of you.
Set a taboo on certain topics
“Tell me about yourself” – asks the interviewer. “I was born on April 2, 1980 (Taurus by horoscope). In my youth, I played football, was a captain of the city team. Then I graduated from the Institute… “- if that’s how the applicant’s answer will sound, – he will most probably not get a job.
The Ultimate Guide to Job Interview Answers by Bob Firestone
