How To Have Good Interview Skills

What Are The Benefits Of Interviews

Holding interviews allows you to get a full sense of what the candidate is actually like. In face-to-face interviews, you can get a better impression of the candidate’s personality, behavior, and poise in the context of discussing business and the type of work the candidate needs to be able to perform.

Questions To Ask In An Interview

Have you ever wondered what questions to ask at a job interview?

In seeking a job, its important to remember that an interview isnt just an opportunity for the employer to find out if you’re a suitable candidate – the interview works both ways.

Read our guide on the best questions to ask during an interview to ensure the job is the right fit for you too.

What you say in an interview is only a part of the message you send to a potential employer.

Positive body language plays a vital part in the first impression that hiring managers have of you.

Read our guide on how to put forward your best self in an interview.

The Ability To Relate Your Skills To The Job Posting

Why Its Important: What happens is theres a job posting, and thats what tells you what theyre looking for in a candidate. So few people use that to prepare for the interview. A lot of people arent prepared to talk about every single item on there, and then they get caught off guard when theyre asked about one of the requirements of the job. You really need to be prepared to talk about everything in that job posting.

Do This: For every single bullet in the job posting the requirement, the qualifications, the day-to-day write down something that youve done thats similar to that and an accomplishment. List those examples in a spreadsheet. You should also think about what makes your approach different or unique. Theyre not just looking for someone who can do the job, but who can also do it differently and better than anyone else. Another exercise I like doing is to list 10 things that make you different from the other candidates. Ask your colleagues and friends for examples. Its hard for people to think like that, which is why I like practicing it.

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Look Into The Camera While Speaking

During an in-person interview, maintaining eye contact with your interviewer is a sign of confidence and respect. Video chat makes this a bit different, because if you were to look them in the eye on your screen, it may not look like that on their end. Instead, look into the camera as you are speaking. This creates the illusion that you are looking at them rather than yourself or the screen.

How To List Skills On A Resume

There are a few different schools of thought when it comes to deciding where to put the skills on your resume. According to our friends over at online resume-builder Zety.com, skills are so very, very important that they should show up all over your resume. Not just in the resume skills section.

In other words, it is imperative that there are elements of your skills throughout your resume, including your resume objective/summary and experience sections.

In addition, there isnt one right answer for where to include your skills, because just like everything else in the job interview world

It depends on the industry, company and position you are interviewing with/for.

For example, for a job where technical competencies are of the utmost importance, it is often beneficial to list the skills closer to the top of the resume, right underneath the resume objective or resume summary statement.

However, if through your research you determine that the hiring manager will put more weight into your experience, you may want to lead with your experience and put the skill section further down your resume.

At the end of the day, the selection of the skills themselves is the most important thing.

After all, most hiring managers will easily find your skill section regardless of where it is on your resume.

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Making Notes And Scoring

As a general principle, the person asking the questions should focus on the candidate while they are answering. Watching their body language, and listening carefully to what theyre saying.

Dont try to make notes while the candidate is answering the question you can do that once theyve finished. In a panel interview, the other members of the panel should make notes as the question is being answered, but making sure that they too are listening and aware of the candidates body language.

Each panel member or interviewer should score the candidate on each criterion as the interview progresses.

You can always amend an earlier assessment, but after 45 minutes you wont remember the earlier answers clearly enough to do all the scoring at the end.

For the same reason, the panel should also discuss each candidate immediately after they have left the room and agree their scores against the criteria.

What Social Media Websites Have You Used In A Professional Setting

If you’re applying to a role that involves social media, an employer is likely to ask this question. They want to see if you have professional experience using the social media platforms they use to market their company. Prior to your interview, reflect upon what social media platforms you have used in previous roles. Be prepared to discuss what functions of each one you are familiar with.

Example:“I have used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn in my previous social media roles. I am quite familiar with using all of their ad building tools and data metrics. My last job required me to create original content to share on all these major platforms. Through this experience, I learned how to be a better copywriter and graphic designer. I even helped my company increase its user engagement by 50% within a month-long period by launching a new campaign on Facebook.”

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Prepare And Practice Your Answers

You’ll likely be under pressure in the interview, so having answers ready for the most common and most difficult questions will ensure that you don’t forget something important. This will also save you from having to think them up on the spot!

Thoroughly reread the job advert, or the job description, as the interview will likely be structured around it. Consider how your experience matches the job requirements, and try to come up with examples.

contains a comprehensive list of common questions, along with guidance on preparing powerful answers for each one.

Many people find role-playing useful before an interview. Sit down with a friend or colleague who’s willing to act as the interviewer. Then, go through several rounds of mock interviews until you feel confident with your answers.

You can also use visualization techniques to rehearse a successful interview. Picture yourself sitting confidently, speaking clearly, and giving all the responses you’ve prepared.

And there are a range of memory techniques that you can use to fix your answers firmly in your mind. The Roman Room System is a particularly powerful method for remembering and recalling your key points.

Tip:

See our article Hiring People: Questions to Ask for a guide to the kind of questions you might face and a breakdown of the techniques interviewers use.

Know That Bias Is A Real Thing And Work To Combat It

As an interviewer, you have a responsibilityto actively work to combat bias in yourself and your colleagues as you assess candidates. Most of us are drawn to candidates who remind us of ourselves or whom wed feel comfortable getting a beer with, but this can blind you to peoples weaknesses or to other candidates strengths. And unsurprisingly, this is how companies end up with homogenous staffs with little diversity.

Being vigilant about assessing all candidates against the same list of must-haves can help mitigate some of the biases that creep into the interviewing process, but its also worth doing things like taking the Harvard Implicit Association Tests and learning about how bias plays out even among well-intentioned interviewers.

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Your Chance To Interview The Employer

While the main goal of the interview is for an employer to evaluate you as a candidate, it is also one of your few chances to learn more about them. There are many aspects of a job that you can only uncover by speaking with the employer.

• Identify questions that can help you determine if this is the right position for you. Consider asking questions about the role, division, organization, and industry.

Practice Common Interview Questions

Prepare answers for common interview questions that hiring managers often ask, such as:

• Tell me about yourself.
• What is your greatest strength?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• Tell me about a challenge you had to overcome at your last job.
• How do you approach a typical workday?
• What motivates you?

You can also research specific questions for the job you’re interviewing for. For example, if you’re interviewing for a programmer or developer role, you could practice coding questions.

When you practice your answer to these common questions, you can deliver more confident responses. If you can, practice with a trusted friend or family member who can give you feedback. You can also practice your facial expressions and body language in front of a mirror.

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Do You Have Any Experience Using Html

When applying to roles that involve blog writing or website building, you’re going to need to know some level of HTML. Employers ask this question to gauge if you have the right level of knowledge about this markup language. Try to show that you have enough knowledge to do the job you’re applying to. If you feel like you need additional training, make it clear that you can learn new things quickly.

Example:“As a blog writer, I would say I have a proficient level of HTML knowledge. I mostly use HTML for basic web page formatting, although I did build a website from scratch using HTML/CSS several years ago. If you need me to do more advanced work with HTML, I am eager to learn. I find that I catch onto computer languages quickly and enjoy putting them to use.”

Take Care To Answer The Questions

When interviewers ask for an example of a time when you did something, they are asking behavioral interview questions, which are designed to elicit a sample of your past behavior. If you fail to relate a specific example, you not only don’t answer the question, but you also miss an opportunity to prove your ability and talk about your skills.

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Pay Attention To Your Body Language

Your body language plays an important part in the way you come across during interviews. Practice maintaining good eye contact, offering a firm handshake, sitting comfortably but confidently in your chair, and smiling.

It’s also important to stay in control of your arms and legs, even if you’re nervous. Try not to play with items in your hands, touch your hair or face, fidget, or jiggle your feet or legs. These are all signals to your interviewer that you’re nervous or uncomfortable.

Don’t Badmouth Your Former Employer

You’re most likely going to be asked why you’re looking to leave your current job . Don’t lie, but don’t be super negative either. “My boss is a huge jerk. She is nit-picky, plays favorites, and smells like tuna fish.” These things may all be true, but you don’t come out looking good. Figure out how to explain why you’re leaving, why you got fired, what you learned from it, and how this all means this new job is a great fit.

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Think About First Impressions

See Candidates In Action

Inaddition to direct questioning, its crucial to create ways to see candidates in action during your hiring process so that youre not relying on candidates telling you what they can do but are actually seeing them do it. You cant effectively assess candidates through interview questions alone you also need to employ exercises and simulations so you can see candidates real work.

For example, you might have applicants for communications positions write a press release for a fake event, or have analyst candidates research and summarize their findings about a piece of legislation, or ask prospective assistants to role-play a tricky situation.

Often in doing this, youll find that a person with an impressive résumé and polished interviewing skills isnt as strong as they had appeared. You also might find the reverse that a candidate is stronger than you had assumed from their résumé.

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Putting It All Together

So there you have it.

The most important thing to remember is to select skills that are relevant to the position you are interviewing for, and more important than that, skills that your company puts a tremendous amount of value in.

Once you get your skills straightened out, you should make sure that the rest of your resume is congruent with the skills you just selected, namely, that your experience shows that you both used those skills in a work environment and developed the skill with on-the-job tasks.

The next thing you should do is download our action list below!

Good Luck!

Carefully Examine The Job Description

During your prep work, you should use the employers posted job description as a guide. The job description is a list of the qualifications, qualities and background the employer is looking for in an ideal candidate. The more you can align yourself with these details, the more the employer will be able to see that you are qualified. The job description may also give you ideas about questions the employer may ask throughout the interview.

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What To Wear To A Job Interview

If you’re wondering how to dress for an interview, you’re not alone. Wearing the right clothes to the interview wont get you the job, but wearing the wrong clothes will sink any chances of impressing the interviewer.

There is one rule that stands above all: Dress professionally. Wear business attire appropriate for the role, while still making sure you feel comfortable.

Tips For Great Job Interviews

From researching the company to handling certain key interview questions, make sure you make a great impression and ace your next job interview by following these 20 tips.

Want to ace your next interview and land thatopen job youve been seeking? Here are 20 tips to help you prepare.1. Research the industry and company.An interviewer may ask how you perceive his company’s position in its industry, who the firm’s competitors are, what its competitive advantages are, and how it should best go forward. For this reason, avoid trying to thoroughly research a dozen different industries. Focus your job search on just a few industries instead.

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Read And Review The Job Description

Youve received a call for that dream job, so how do you prepare for the interview? The first step in the preparation process should be to go back and review the job description. Most job descriptions follow a similar pattern and are usually categorised by the following points:

• Job title/Department
• Duties and tasks
• Skills required

The job title and department will give you an understanding of the major purpose of the position and where the role fits into the organisation, allowing you to discover who your potential line manager could be.

Read and review the job description very thoroughly and be sure to align your competencies with the skills required for the job. You will consequently ready yourself for questions around your previous experiences, performing similar duties in other organisations.

How Do Goals Help You Become A Better Leader

Good leaders know how to set goals for both themselves and for their team. Tools like SMART goals can be useful in creating objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. Discuss what goal-setting strategies you use when leading your team. Consider giving an example of when you used the SMART method to help your team improve their productivity and achieve their goal. If you are not already in a leadership position, you can explain how you set goals to practice leadership skills and why you feel you have potential.

Example: In order to successfully complete tasks, my team works best when they know exactly what they have to do and in what time frame. I use the SMART goal method to establish daily, weekly and monthly objectives and guide my teams productivity. For example, I wanted to make sure my team was able to finish inventory by the end of the month. I delegated specific daily tasks to team members based on individual strengths. I created a visual progress tracker to measure our weekly objectives as we reached our achievable end-goal by our deadline.

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