How You Can Ace Your Next Job Interview

Technological advancements have made it possible for businesses to provide immediate satisfaction to their consumers. Often, this does not require anything more than a few clicks of the mouse for purchasing something online. However, some things continue to take their own sweet time. For example, securing that job you had your eye on at the company of your choice.

The recruitment processes in many organizations are usually long-drawn-out affairs. Typically, organizations take quite a few weeks to close their hiring processes – from the time they advertise a job posting to the time they make a hire. This lengthy process is beneficial for the organization. It helps the organization identify the best candidates for the job by evaluating their applications over a myriad of parameters. For the applicants however, the process could appear to be tedious and convoluted.

The Formula for Success – Tips to Help You Ace the Interview

Every interview tests various aspects of a candidate’s competence and skills. However, candidates often fret over the long periods of inactivity between interviews. Instead, they must continue to focus on the process, rather than focusing on the results. Eventually, preparing adequately for the interview plays an important role in achieving the desired results.

Here is a list of ways by which you could ace an interview that you appear for.

1. Spruce Up Your Online Presence: Information is freely available these days. Therefore, if you’re going to research the company on the internet, remember that they could be doing just the same for you. Check that all details concerning your experience and educational background are consistent with what you’ve mentioned in your resume. Ensure that all the photographs you’ve uploaded on your social media profiles are professional. Remove anything unseemly – from photographs to your opinions. Do a Google check on yourself to see what results may appear.

2. Know the Company You’ve Applied to: Your job application is not just about yourself. It is also about the company you’re applying to. Therefore, you need to match your skills with how the company could benefit from having you on board. To achieve this, research the company thoroughly. Therefore, consider going through sources like:
   1. The company’s website
   2. The company’s blog
   3. The company’s social network profile pages i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. and,
   4. Any news items available in the media about the company, its leaders and its business dealings and performances

By doing your homework, you could heighten the impression that you’re someone who is committed, enthusiastic and meticulous.

3. Heed Your Interviewers: You might not always know who your interviewers are. However, if you have this information, it could give you a great advantage over the other applicants. Once you know the names of the people on the interviewing panel, consider going through their social media profiles. Do a Google search on them to find out about:
   1. Their background
   2. Their work experience
   3. Their educational qualifications
   4. Their interests
   5. The groups they belong to (if applicable)
   6. Whether they’ve been published (if applicable)

4. Find Common Ground: The next step lies in finding things that you have in common with your interviewers. This could help you establish constructive relationships at the outset. With the information you have, check whether you:
   1. Graduated from the same school
   2. Know someone (especially a former colleague) in common
   3. Belong to similar LinkedIn groups
   4. Follow the same people or organizations on Twitter
   5. Have other things in common, which are not related to work i.e. hobbies, sports etc.

5. Dress for the Interview, not for the Job: Several organizations follow a casual dress code. Some companies even allow their staff to wear jeans and t-shirts to work. However, never make the mistake of appearing for an interview based on the dress code prescribed by the organization. Always wear a suit – unless told otherwise by the hiring manager. Remember that actions speak louder than words. Your appearance plays a major role in creating the first impression that interviewers form about you than anything else does.

6. Be Punctual: Some people like to plan things down to a precision. As a result, they give themselves just enough time to reach the company office. Unsurprisingly, they often reach with just minutes to spare. Therefore, avoid being late for an interview. Instead, give yourself sufficient time to reach the venue for the interview. Allow time for unforeseen delays like traffic jams, parking hassles, unfamiliarity with the route etc. Do a dry run a day or two before the interview to assess the time it takes to reach the place. Ideally, you should arrive 15 – 25 minutes before your scheduled time.

7. Stay Relaxed and Smile Often: The first few minutes of the interview are sufficient for your interviewers to form their first impressions about you. Energy, interest and enthusiasm are among the first things that interviewers note about the candidates facing them. Therefore, ensure that you smile every few minutes or so. Smiling often makes you appear relaxed and friendly. It makes you appear in control of the situation as well. At certain points during the interview, you might feel hot under the collar. Remember to smile especially during these moments. There’s no reason why you should let your interviewers know that you’re under duress.

Following these steps could help you in clearing any interview you face successfully. It is worthwhile noting that the results of any interview depend on the qualities, skills and capabilities of the applicants. Therefore, in some situations, you might not fare as well as you hoped to, despite preparing well for the interview. However, by focusing on preparing as well as you can, you give yourself an edge over all the other contenders for the job.