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What is your best interview advice?

Quazi 6 Aug 21
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23 comments

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8

Research the company before the interview.

Know the organization's mission.

Bring five or six written questions to ask the interviewer(s).

Arrive early.

Turn off your phone.

This is excellent advice, I was going to write almost the same thing, so have just endorsed yours instead,

@Marionville
Thank you.

6

Dress for the job you want . Be prepared . Take care of personal hygiene . Arrive ahead of your schedualed appointment .

@Quazi Invest in an outfit that is suitable for the job you want .

5

After you've answered a question, stop talking.

5

I have interviewed a lot of people and my advise would be to understand what the company does and the job requirements really well and if you don't understand - ask!

If it is a behavioural interview they are going to ask you for examples of things that you achieved in your previous jobs or study which align to their job requirements, so have those stories about your past achievements ready and have referees who can back them up. Be methodical about preparing these before the interview. You should structure these stories so that you explain first what the problem was, then how you solved it, and finally what the outcome was. Keep it succinct.

Don't forget that an interview is a two way process. Yes, they are interviewing you but you should also be assessing the role and the culture of the company you are looking to join to ensure you would be a good fit. Don't be afraid to ask questions in the interview.

I was trained to do behavioral interviews. They’re easy when I go through them now lol

4

Here are a few things I can think of:

  • Prepare. Learn as much as you can about the company before the interview. Read articles about the industry if you're not especially familiar with it, and learn about exciting developments as well as challenges that the company may be facing. The last thing you want is to appear entirely ignorant of what the company does.

  • Resources. Bring a copy of your résumé with you, along with any other materials that make sense to have on hand. Bring a pad and pen to jot down notes when appropriate (but don't spend a lot of time writing, which takes you out of the conversation too much).

  • Relax. I know this is easier said than done, but when you come across as relaxed, you also seem naturally more confident (but not arrogant).

  • Converse. Don't think of it as a question-and-answer process, but more of a discussion. This makes you seem more relaxed, more confident, more knowledgable, and more approachable.

  • Ask. Ask open-ended questions about the job and the company, especially in relation to things you can do to address challenges the company or department may be experiencing.

  • Follow up. A day or so after your interview, send a note of thanks to the manager(s) you met with. Take this opportunity to bring up one or two things that arose during the interview that piqued your interest or bring up something that further adds to what you discussed if it naturally fits the conversation.

This is really good, sound advice. In addition I would say, wear a suit or blazer and slacks minimum. Colour should be grey or dark blue, never brown. Shoes should be black leather not brown or suede. Shirt should be clean and freshly ironed, preferably white, and the tie can be on the flashy side of sober. If you can't afford to buy a suit, find one in a charity shop and get it altered so it fits well. How you dress is important because first impressions count so much and the interviewer sees the physical you before you get a chance to open your mouth. Anyway, whatever advice you take from these responses, may I wish you the best of luck.

4

I think the attitude is one of the most important things (for an interview and in life). Show them you are confident that you will be successful in that role.

4

The 11 comments below contain sound advice. I want to disagree with some of it.

Yes: prepare, have and ask questions, know the company and its mission, dress appropriately, be on time etc.

Whatever you do, don't be totally honest. That is naive in the extreme. Do not lie or misrepresent yourself, but also remember it is somewhat of a game. Your objective is to get an offer, then decide if you want it. So it will almost certainly be wise to hold some things back, embellish without lying. The company is doing the same to you.

3

Do your homework.

  1. Study up on the company: their website, their Better Business Bureau reports, their publicly known financials, their LinkedIn profilee, Facebook, Twitter, and any articles on them you can find.
  2. Study up on their industry: Especially if you don't have extensive experience in it, look at their competitors and articles about it.
  3. Study up on the people you're meeting with: Finding out that you and your interviewer have a favorite sports team in common is great if you can relate and anecdote to the role or your experiences. But you can also get an idea from their Facebook posts what kind of person they are and how to conduct the conversation.
  4. Ask questions: Use everything above to prove to the person across the table that you're not only qualified for the position but that you're the stand-out.

Resumes & phone screens are typical of only weeding out red flags. Finding the people that are definite no's. At the interview portion you're in the top probably 10%, but you've got to prove how you're better than the other candidates who are sometimes more qualified than you.

Always think of an interview this way, you're in a room with ~100 other people and you're trying to convince a stranger that you're better than the other 99 people in the room.

3

[askamanager.org] Seriously, if you are job searching, or employed, or want to be employed someday, read the blog Askamanager.org. She tackles it all: interviews, cover letters, resumes, office culture, toxic bosses, messed up coworkers, lunch stealers. It is amazing! You can send in questions which she will answer. The author has worked in HR for a long time, the blog is about 10 years strong, and searchable. Some of her intersting posts on interviews: [askamanager.org] and [askamanager.org]

3

Be honost and real. Give specific examples. Have bettervquestions than hours and pay at the end. Do reasearch about the company. Have a 3 - 5 year outlook for what you want to do. Think how can you add and improve to the situation at hand.

2

Some really good advice here, but I reckon one thing is good for confidence: dress sharp. Look at yourself in the mirror and say "I have got this fuckin' nailed."

2

Be honest polite try to be as succinct as possible and not jabber on listen very carefully when they're speaking to you and make direct eye contact make sure you have a good working knowledge of the tasks and expectations of the job that you are applying for also be dressed appropriately for the type of job that you're applying for office job nice clothes construction boots jeans and a work shirt

2

Be honest & make eye contact.

2

wear pants.

Are the velcro, chip-n-dales ones ok? Asking for a friend

2

Research the company, know what the job basically entails, know what comparable jobs pay, have extra resume copies with you, dress for the job and company standards, be early, know what you want and your own deal breakers, ask questions about the job as though you are interested.

Most companies only want to know two things..will you actually show up and do the work, and will you stay with them so they aren't wasting their time with you.

2

Wear comfortable shoes.

1

Scream your answers at them - This demonstrates confidence. Interviewers like to see confidence.

Masturbate - This demonstrates you are at ease in high pressure situations.

Outline everything they're doing wrong as a company - This will enable them to improve their business model and show them you have solutions to offer.

Piss on their desk - It's like marking your territory and tells them you consider this job to be yours already.

Glad to help.

1

Confidence. Even if you aren’t confident, try your best to seem that way. Don’t say uhh... And try your best to keep eye contact with who asks you the questions.

1

STAY CALM!

1

Be keen

0

are you talking about conducting a job interview with an applicant, being an applicant, interviewing someone in order to write an article about that person, or being interviewed by someone who may write an article about you?

g

@Quazi if interviewing a candidate: make sure your questions are appropriate to the candidate's purported ability to do the job, but listen to the answers, too, not just the content but the tone. don't judge lack of confidence too harshly; some people are shy in interviews but innovative on the job. if being interviewed: don't ramble but don't give one-word answers either, and don't be afraid to say "i don't know, but i'd like to learn." if interviewing a subject for an article, have your list of questions ready but be prepared to put them aside in favor of following up on the answers. otherwise you could submit your interview questions in writing! the subject's answers will give you your next question naturally; your interview will become a guided conversation. if you're the subject, relax, be honest, don't say things off the record because they might somehow slip into the record anyway, and if the interviewer crosses a line, politely tell him/her so... or indicate so by deftly changing the subject!

g

0

What type of interview?

0

Try to avoid umms an ahs. They know you are nervous, they had sat across from a personnel director when they were hired.

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