Posted

A job interview is a performance. You are selling yourself, attempting to persuade a hiring manager why you are the best person for the job. To do that effectively, you need to hone your interviewing skills. Preparation and practice are key. Here are a few ways to sharpen your interviewing skills.

1. Work with an interview coach
An experienced interview coach can give you practice with the various techniques that a hiring manager may use during the interview, as well as helping you to sharpen your answers to common interview questions. The coach can work with you on answering difficult questions and on avoiding traps during the interview.

The fee for such a service will certainly be worth it if the coach helps you to get the job.

2. Develop and practice your stories
At the interview you need to be ready with examples, facts, and figures to highlight your accomplishments and skills. One of the most effective ways of showing your achievements is by using the format where you describe a problem or situation, explain the action you took to handle the problem, describe what the result was, and then explain how it was a benefit to the company.
Your answer takes the form of a little story, which gives it more impact than some abstract answer. It is concrete and specific.

3. Do your research
This is pretty much common knowledge now. You can never know too much about a company. Research online and take a trip to the library as well to see what you can find out. It is good to know not just about the company but about the wider industry as well and what the trends are, as well as who the company’s competitors are.

4. Use social media
Use the connections you have on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter to find out what you can about the person or people who will be interviewing you. Try to find things that you have in common with them, whether you went to the same college, or have a similar interest, or similar background.

Finding connections is significant because hiring managers tend to hire people with whom they connect, with whom they forge a relationship.

5. Prepare questions
You want to make sure the job is something you really want, that it aligns with your interests and skills. So, you want to have questions prepared about the job itself. You can use the job description as a starting point. Use your questions to also find out about the working environment at the company and its culture.

If the job is what you want, show your enthusiasm.

Winston Resources can help to give a boost to your job search. We have a network of employers, and we know how to prepare candidates for jobs with those employers. Give us a call today.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *