How To Ace Your Next Interview: Tips And Examples
Whether you are applying for an entry-level position or a senior role, you will probably have to interview with a potential employer before receiving a job offer. Since a job interview gives you a chance to show your qualifications and make a good impression on the hiring team, you will want to perform at your best during this important meeting. In this article, we discuss how to ace an interview, including preparation tips for common job interview questions.
Tips To Ace Your Video Interview
If you have an online video interview coming up, youre probably wondering what to expect or how best to prepare. While the questions and answers will probably be similar to what you would expect in a traditional interview, the added layer of technology can make it seem like a totally different experience.
Whether your interview is live or pre-recorded, take the time to read through each of the steps below. Youll learn how to ensure that you have the best audio/video quality, background and attire. And well offer help on ways to increase your confidence on-camera.
Do You Have Any Questions For Me
You might be asking yourself why this is a tricky question. Honestly, its not a tricky question if you are prepared for it.
What the interviewer is looking for here is how interested and excited you are for the position. Youd be surprised at how many people answer this question with a blank stare or have no questions prepared.
Again, if you are at a live interview, you should be highly interested in a position and the company. You will convey how interested you are in the opportunity with some well thought out questions to ask.
You dont want to just ask one question like How often is payday? Have at least 4 to 5 questions prepared but dont overwhelm your interviewer with dozens and dozens of questions. Show that youve given some serious thought to this position by coming prepared with solid questions to ask.
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Why Do You Want This Position
Hiring teams include this question in interviews to determine how well you understand the job and the company. When you receive this question, you have an opportunity to demonstrate how much you have researched the organization and the job opening. In your answer, try mentioning the companys mission or accomplishments and the unique opportunities that the position offers.
Example: The role aligns well with my experience and future goals. After working in a supervisory retail sales position for three years, I am adequately prepared to advance to a managerial role in the field. I am enthusiastic about the management and financial skills I can acquire through this position, and I am excited about working for an accomplished company that frequently exceeds its quarterly sales goals by 10% or more.
How Can Popcorn Recruiters Help You
Did you know that we help all our candidates prepare for their interviews?
As a recruitment agency, our goal is not only to meet the needs and demands of our clients. We also look out for our candidates and make sure they find their ideal employer.
Once you apply to one of our open positions or you join our talent network, we become your representatives something like your personal agents.
First, well have a chat to get to know you better your needs, skills, interests, and requirements. Then, well match you with a company we know youll fit in with perfectly!
Before you have a call or meeting with your potential employer, well be more than willing to have a prep call with you to make sure you ace that interview!
Sounds good? Drop your CV and well get in touch!
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Find The Right Context
Memorization works solely in times of urgency. If you want to learn in the most effective manner, then you need to have context for information.
Find an aspect thats interesting for you try to research for related information, and youll discover the joy of learning.
The first step? Jot down as much information and as many ideas as possible: How Simply Jotting Down Ideas Can Make You Smarter
With time, this practice will make you a faster learner.
Prepare Your Interview Questions In Advance
Interviewers usually expect employees to ask their own questions to show they’re prepared and highly interested in the role. Consider preparing some questions in advance and listening closely to the interviewer discussing the company to develop additional questions in the moment. You can ask questions about the corporate culture, growth opportunities within the organization or the next steps in the interview process.
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How Would Your Current Manager Describe You
This question gives you the opportunity to show off your strengths and what your boss appreciates about what you bring to the table. You want to focus on the positive traits that your boss likes and how it helps you in your role.
What you do not want to do is sprinkle in the things your boss doesnt think as highly of. Dont say something like my boss would describe me as a focused worker, at least on the days I make it into the office.
Research Your Prospective Employer
Before going to an interview, conduct enough research on the company to be familiar with its goals, accomplishments, objectives and mission. A great way to do this is to research the company’s website to learn more about its history, executives, recent announcements and corporate culture. You can also look for news articles to learn about its recent achievements and future goals. Find additional input on what it’s like to work at the organization by reading employee reviews online.
Conducting research on the organisation helps you better understand the company and the types of questions interviewers may ask. This helps you provide informed answers that demonstrate why your qualifications, achievements and experience make you the best fit for the role.
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How To Ace Online Job Interviews
Posted on: 06th July, 2021
One interesting shift that the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced is the move to online job interviews. The Managing Director of recruitment agency Randstand, Ms Jaya Dass, notes that there are fewer face-to-face interviews in 2020, due to the restrictions imposed by the government. A reported that 81% of talent professionals agree that virtual recruiting will continue even after Covid-19, and 70% think virtual recruiting will become the new norm.
As you receive more online job interviews, its imperative that you know exactly what to do to ace that interview. Like any other interview, being prepared is key. That said, an online job interview, whether its on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Hangouts, requires you to pay attention to areas you may not have considered before in a physical interview.
Test Your Technology
Before your video call, be sure to familiarise yourself with the teleconferencing software. For instance, Zoom and Microsoft Teams may have the mute button in different places. By video-calling a friend or family member beforehand, you can test out the technology and iron out any uncertainties you may have. Being unsure of the technology is akin to arriving at a physical interview late. Its also a good idea to test the audio and video out, as well as link up to a strong internet connection to prevent any glitching that may occur.
Set Up a Professional-looking Background
Eliminate Distractions
Maintain Eye Contact
Knowledge Really Is Power
An online interview is just like any other interview so you should come fully prepared. Research the post and organisation in-depth and prepare a list of questions.
Have your CV and qualifications to hand and ensure you have pens and paper ready to make any notes during the interview. Once the interview has started, it would look highly unprofessional if you were to nip off for something youve forgotten.
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Use Your Face To Show Youre Engaged
Nonverbal communication is important in any conversation. But when it comes to a video interview, a lot of the avenues through which we usually give nonverbal cueseye contact, body language, and small murmurs of agreementare cut off. So we have to lean more heavily on what we have left, namely facial expressions.
If youre in the room with someone, you can usually tell if theyre listening to you intently even if their face is not moving much . But everybody can look like a statue over video interview, Turner says. You shouldnt be so static that your interviewer has to wonder if youre still connected.
Short vocalizations arent the way to solve this problem here since on many common video interview platforms, only one mic can be used at once, Eonnet says. So while two people can speak simultaneously in the same room or over the phone, on a video call, your yes, definitely! can mute the other persons microphone momentarily, breaking up the flow of conversation and possibly causing you to miss key information.
Instead of saying mm-hm or yeah, nod or smile when youd usually speak. That way your interviewer still gets the feedback they need without your mic accidentally overriding theirs.
Write Down 5 Questions Beforehand
Prepare by doing some research on the company and industry. Try to think of five good questions that arent about salary or benefits
You want to think up five in case some of them are naturally answered along the way. Most interviewers ask at the end if you have questions and having two or three questions to ask will show youve put thought into this.
Pro Tip: Ask questions that show you would be an engaged and valuable member on the team, ready to get to work as soon as you are hired.
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During The Interview Turn Off Notifications And Close Windows And Tabs
Getting a sudden Skype or Slack call or even an email can really throw you off, says Graham. Its not only distracting to the people on the call, but its certainly distracting to you to see that you just got a message. I think its really important to close down everything else on your computer except what you need to have open. By closing windows, youre also giving your computer and internet connection the best chance to make it through the call without glitches.
Log On Early And Test Setup
Being on time is really being about 10 minutes early. For a virtual, first-time interview, you may want to make sure you are ready to go 15-20 minutes early. If this sounds like a lot, just remember: In a normal interview, you would probably be getting ready, driving, parking and finding the right room before the interview.
In this situation, setting up the computer and logging in is essentially the parking part of your interview process. Make sure everything works and then you can hang out until about 5-10 minutes before the scheduled time.
Pro Tip: ALWAYS act like your interviewer can hear and see everything you are doing. Getting in the habit of feeling watched during the session will help you not do something strange because you forget people are in the room or dont realize your camera is on. From the moment you log in until the moment you close the screen, just assume they can hear and see everything.
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Get Ready To Ace Your Interview
Job interviews will always be nerve-wracking, and itd be nice if you had a crystal ball that would conveniently tell you everything that employer was going to ask.
Unfortunately, we cant throw a crystal ball your way. But, these eight tough interview questions and answers should make a difference. Being prepared with polished answers to the common and challenging interview questions weve shared here certainly helps to tame those butterflies in your stomach. Youve got this!
Write Out A Few Notesbut Refer To Them As Little As Possible
Because your interviewer wont be able to see everything you have on your desk , it might be tempting to have a lot of information in front of you for a video interview. But be careful. Turner recommends having only a few quick notes in front of you and glancing at them sparingly. Write down key figures and other small snippets, not whole answers. You dont want to sound like youre just reading, she says.
Meanwhile, Eonnet discourages keeping any notes in front of you at all. The best interviews are conversations and notes can become a crutch, Eonnet says. A huge reason someone decides to hire you is because they feel like you made a connection during the interview, which can be hard to do if youre distracted.
If youd like to have a few sparse notes for your interview, make sure you also have them out during your practice. Not only will this show you whether you can use them without it disrupting the flow of the conversation, the more you read them over, the less youll end up having to refer to them.
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Tips For A Acing An Online Interview
Online job interviews are similar to the traditional, face-to-face kind we’re used to, and they have been popular in certain industries for some time now. However, there are some pretty significant variations worth preparing for. Meeting someone via Zoom or Skype is quite different from doing so in person, but it doesn’t have to be a challenge. Despite the differences between in-person and online interviews, your goals are the same to set yourself apart from other candidates and score a second interview. Below is a collection of tips and techniques to ensure your online interview success.
Learn more: Discover real interview questions asked for thousands of job titles.
Prepare Your Own Questions
In addition to preparing answers to some common interview questions, it is also advised that you prepare several questions of your own. Ask the interviewer about job requirements, the benefits and salary or what they think of the company. Any questions that allow the interviewer to share additional information about what they expect from the ideal candidate will help you in the next stage of interviewing.
Related: How to Introduce Yourself in an Interview
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Companies Are Asking New Questions And You Can Too
Graham has noticed that companies are asking candidates How have you handled the COVID situation? or What have you been doing with your time? These arent questions that youd normally be prepared for, so its important to reflect on them in advance. As with any other interview question, Graham recommends thinking about your audience and how you can apply your answer to what they need or what theyre looking for.
You should also feel free to ask this question in return, says Graham. Since you probably wont have the opportunity to see their office and get a sense of their work culture during your interview, its reasonable for you to ask how theyve responded to the pandemic or raise other questions about their culture. Graham suggests asking questions like Who are your heroes? or Who is rewarded at your organization? She says, Those types of things really get to the heart of the culture. So I think you need to do a little bit more work as a candidate to dig into that now.
Ultimately, you shouldnt feel any more nervous about a Zoom interview than you would about a normal one. Video interviews can give you a lot more control over the space that youre in. Plus, you wont need to worry about navigating a new building or neighborhood or arriving there exactly the right amount of early. And just remember, says Graham: The employer has already selected you from their applicant pile, and they want to meet you. So bring your best self.
Tips For Acing Your Online Video Call Job Interview
1. Standard Rules Still Apply2. Eliminate Distractions3. Banish the Pets and Kids4. Find a Neutral Background5. Choose a Small Chair6. Master Your Lighting7. Prioritize the Camera, Not the Screen8. Test Your Gear9. Check the Time Zone10. Keep Your Eyes Forward11. Wear Some Earbuds12. Practice13. Get in the Mood to Talk14. Make a Cheat Sheet
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Whats Your Biggest Weakness
This is a personal favorite of mine. The primary reason for this question is not to actually find out what your biggest weakness is. Unless of course, you say something like showing up to work on a regular basis, then its probably going to get you kicked out of consideration for the role.
The main reason for someone asking you this question is to see if you are self-aware. That is if you know your weaknesses and are smart enough to account for them.
The smart play here is to answer in a modest way. You want to be able to show that your biggest weakness actually has an upside. For instance, I usually say that mine is impatience. Which is true, I like to get things done. But what I ensure what I point out is that even though I am impatient, its because I like to crank and get a lot of work done.
Analyze Your Learning Style
Before you can start experimenting with different studying methods, you need to understand what type of learner you are:
Is your memory associated to sound?
Maybe you can remember what you were reading when a particular song was playing? If this is your case, then you fall into the category of auditory learners.
If you want to start studying more efficiently, then it would be wise to record the lectures and listen to them instead of reading textbooks.
Do you relate information to visual content?
If you are a visual learner, you should implement images, graphs, charts, infographics, colorful lists, flashcards, and other types of visual content when you study.
Are you a physical learner?
If your learning style is not auditory or visual, then you might be a physical learner. Some students have too much energy they tap their feet or play with a pen during lectures.
A walk before a lecture will calm your nerves down. You can try studying or listening to audio lectures during a walk. That will help you remember the information more quickly.
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