Interview Tips: Before, During and After

Before the Interview

Know more about the company and the job you are applying for – more often than not, your prospective employer will ask you questions about the company and your job. But even though they will never ask those specific questions, you can easily relate your answer to them based on what you know about the company background and plans. With more knowledge about the job you are applying for, you’ll know you answer should also be related to the job you are applying for.

Practice going to the place – be familiar on how to arrive to the area on time. Consider all possibilities that will make you run late for a job interview and prevent them before hand. Knowing the exact route will give you a fair idea on what type of transportation to take and what time to leave from your home.

Arrive early – do not arrive on time. Arrive earlier than that. It is often recommended to arrive at least 10 minutes before the time for the job interview. Arriving 10 minutes earlier will give you time to relax and rehearse the answers that might be asked from you.

During the Interview

Greet them with the proper titles – use Mr. Ms. or any appropriate title for that person. Do not address them by their first names unless they tell you.

Be Confident – your actions during the job interview will tell you how confident and relaxed you are in a pressured environment. Do not stutter as this is one of the most obvious signs that you’re nervous. Speak clearly to be understood and never look down on your feet when asked with different questions. Sit up straight and look at them in the eye when answering questions.

Never say anything negative about your past employers – bad mouthing your previous employers is a very bad thing to do during an interview. The interviewer will also have an idea that you’ll be bad mouthing them when they eventually hire you for the job.

Always explain your answer – unless you are told to, always support your answers when the question only needs to be answered by “yes” or “no”. But don’t stretch out your answer too much. Explain your answer in a concise but clear manner.

Do not be personal – when the interviewer asks you a question about competency don’t answer about your personal problems and struggles to earn money for your family. They are not charity institution that will donate money for your family; rather they are a company who looks for someone competitive to do some of the jobs they can’t.

After the Interview

After the interview offer a handshake – whether or not your interview went bad, always end it up with a handshake. It’s the least you could do to them for giving you time and patience to listen to your ideas about the company.

Send the interviewer a thank you note – a simple follow up for their time is also a good practice. It will also highlight your interview as they will eventually remember what you said during the interview.

Don’t call more than once – after a few days when there is still no word, get in touch with them. Do not bother them by calling them twice. If you think the call didn’t come for a very long time, it’s time to look for another job opening.

There might be more tips that I did not cover in this blog entry.. Feel free to post your comments and any additional that will help our fellow friends who are just starting to prepare for their first interviews.   Please let me know if you have any specific topics you would like me to cover using comments section.  I will surely consider all of the requests where it will be useful for all.