Being Prepared for your Job Interview
The job interview is the most important part of getting a job. It is the time to give your best first impression and prove you are ready to hit the ground running. There are several things you can do to prepare yourself for an interview.
- Wardrobe. What you wear to a job interview is critical. Your appearance is the first thing the interviewer will notice about you. If you walk into an office building, wearing ripped jeans and sporting a blue spiked hairdo, they may not view that as appropriate attire. Some may argue that they should not be judged by how they dress, but instead by their skills. While this may or may not be true morally, it is simply not how most businesses view it. If you have an office job, dress in a professional manner like a suit and tie or skirt and blouse. Here are some wardrobe do's and don'ts that might help you:
Do-
Wear clean and wrinkle free clothing. You do not want to look or smell like you just dragged yourself out of a garbage bin.
Wear clean shoes that are not falling apart.
Have your hair washed and neatly combed. Avoid having your hair hanging in your face. The interviewer wants to look at you, not your hair.
Do Not-
Wear excessive jewelry. Too much "bling" can be a bad thing.
Wear too much perfume/cologne. You want the interviewer to notice you, not your favorite scent.
Dress sexy. You want to get the job for your skills, not how attractive you look.
- Research. Take the time to find out some information about the company. This might sound pointless and tedious, however it might actually turn out to be rather interesting. Having some basic knowledge of the company will also help you have intelligent conversations with the interviewer. It is almost silly to apply to a company you know nothing about, other than the name and address.
- Practice. Stand in front of the mirror and practice your greeting and answering some basic interview questions. Another suggestion here is to ask a friend help you do a practice interview. Play both sides, as yourself and as the interviewer. This can help ease your nerves as well as help you eliminate slang (words you use when around friends and family) terms from your professional conversation style.
- Resume. Make sure your resume is up to date and that you know everything on it by heart. This shows you took past jobs seriously and have an interest in your professional career goals.
- Questions. Make a list of questions you would like to ask the interviewer. Keep this list fairly short, only stick to really important questions that will directly affect your job performance like policies on family emergencies. Please note: if the company gave you an employee handbook, then read it! A lot of questions are answered in these books.
The chances of going to an interview and being able to "wing it" (make it up as you go) are not very good, at least not if you actually want the job. By taking the time topreparefor an interview, you are showing that you have an interest in the position as well as in the company itself. It also shows that you are mature and take the job seriously.
