Attending an interview is one of the most stressful things that you can do. Candidates have been know to get so anxious that they forget everything that they thought they had prepared. So make sure that you have prepared properly for your interview and that your skills are sharp!
Your interview is your chance to set yourself apart from the opposition. It is your opportunity to deliver your sales pitch and it is a critical component to the employer’s selection process. You have to work hard to develop your performance skills to ensure that you are the one getting the congratulations handshake at the end of the day.
Want to know how to begin improving your interview skills? Have a look at this interview tips sheet to help you prepare better for your interview. Remember, though, that reading is not enough – you have to use them too!!
A sensible start will be for you to anticipate what questions may come up in your interview. Figure out what questions have a high chance of being asked. Then develop structured responses to those interview questions. Produce a beginning, body and conclusion section to every answer.
Your voice is also important. Speak slowly. Speak clearly. If you don’t, you will appear nervous as well as difficult to listen to. Practice talking in a clear and coherent way.
If you want to appear honest, trustworthy and likeable, you should practice maintaining a decent amount of eye contact with the interview panel members and keeping your smile on show. Remember to smile with your teeth showing! It is helpful to deliberately practice doing this, as when you are nervous, these skills will often be neglected in the heat of the interview.
Always make sure that you spend some time practicing before the interview. Great ways to practice include in front of the mirror or perhaps in front of some friends. The mirror is a great idea, since it allows you to see what you look like. Speaking in front of friends is helpful too, since it will get you used to speaking in front of people.
When you are answering questions during an interview, always give answers that are honest. If you don’t, you’ll probably show it in your body language. You are better off to answer honestly. The last thing you want is to give an answer, only for the interviewer to find out later you were lying. This is sure to take away any chance of you landing that job.
You also need to make sure that you sell yourself during an interview. Work on figuring out how you can do this before you actually have the interview. When you have the interview, you should work on selling yourself for the job, just as you would a product. Make sure you leave no doubt in their mind as to why they should choose you for the job.