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When you go for a job interview, you naturally want to be as well prepared as possible. You want to stand out from what is likely a crowded field of applicants. But being well prepared may not be what you think it is, according to one career advisor.

In an effort to become as knowledgeable as possible, you may try to cram in as many facts and figures about the company as you can. But this may in fact be counterproductive. It may cause you to lose your focus during the interview as you struggle to recall what you have crammed into your head. This in turn makes you more tense. This approach works against you because you want to appear relaxed and
self-confident.

The best way to show your knowledge of a company, Hollarnd says, is to come up with a plan before you go to the interview and then use that plan or strategy to guide you when you collect information, not the other way around. The idea is to simplify.

Rather than absorbing a million details, many of which are irrelevant to the employer, you need to figure out the one thing that is important to the employer – why the employer is hiring someone in the first place, what the employer wants this person to do for the
company.

The place to go for this information is the job description. It will give you an indication of the problems the employer needs to solve, of the skills that will be needed.

It also will help you if you do some background research on the company. Using the Internet makes this task a lot easier. This also will help you put the job in context of the company as a whole and to the company’s overall goals and strategy.

Holland says to focus on the key words in the job description. How do your skills and background fit those key words? Also, think about your accomplishments in the past and try to relate what you did and the skills you used to the key words. Do the same with your resume – look over your work experience and see if you can rephrase it in terms of the kinds of things that the company is looking for.

The answer, Holland says, is to stay relaxed, keep it simple, and focus on the company’s needs.

For more help in preparing for a job interview, contact a recruiter at Winston Resources. We help our candidates prepare for interviews with our New York City clients and we look forward to helping you land your next great job, too. Contact us today!


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