It’s one of the most important presentations you’ll ever make. It’s called a job interview, and how well you present yourself can have ramifications that extend far into your future. Companies are looking to hire candidates who are professional, but too many people go into the interview woefully underprepared and don’t make the right impression.
As a result, many recruiters have begun sending their candidates tips on how to get ready for a job interview properly. Here is some of the advice they are giving them:
Prepare and practice
They tell them to update their LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, and take out everything that looks unprofessional. Also, minimize the chances of saying something silly by practicing for the interview. Well-prepared candidates look, sound, and act more confident.
List your strengths and weaknesses
Recruiters make sure their candidates have written down four of their strengths and one weakness. Include a short paragraph telling how they accomplished something using each of those strengths and another on how they overcame the weakness and did something of value.
Learn the SAFW concept
They tell candidates their answers to questions during the interview should be about one to two minutes long. So, they should plan their answers around Say A Few Words. It goes like this: Make an opening Statement, Amplify it with a few sentences, give a Few examples to prove your point, and Wrap it up with a hook that prompts the interviewer to ask a follow-up question.
Prepare write-ups of two significant accomplishments
They let candidates know that this exercise will fine-tune their verbal pitches during the interview. Writing and practicing them will prevent any nervousness that could cause them to draw a blank during the interview. The accomplishments—one individual and one as part of a team—should include examples of their strengths.
Learn how to prompt the interviewer
When the interview is not leading into a discussion of your accomplishments, they instruct the candidates on how to turn it in that direction. For example, ask a question similar to this one: “I’m not sure I understand completely what your needs are. Could you give me a brief overview of what the job requires and some of its challenges? Then I can give you a few examples of the work I’ve done that are similar.”
Let them know you want the job
Recruiters instruct candidates to tell the interviewer they are interested in the job near the end of the interview, and then ask what comes next. Also, they want candidates to ask if their accomplishments are relevant to the requirements of the position. If there is a gap, they can fill it with more examples of related accomplishments.
Remember, candidates who have prepared thoroughly are more confident and give comprehensive answers. They tend to worry less and ask better questions. Because of this they can focus the interview on their major accomplishments and improve the odds of receiving a fair assessment. To learn more about preparing for an interview, contact our staffing professionals today.
