What Should You Research Before An Interview
Do you have a job interview coming up? Then you might already be rehearsing answers to potential interview questions. But did you know that researching the company youre applying for work with is one of the best ways to stand out from other candidates during the recruitment process?
Research helps you learn about what the company does, what they look for in their employees and helps you be better prepared to answer questions. Its also a great way to find out whether youd be a good cultural match for the company and whether theyd be able to meet your own career and lifestyle needs.In a SEEK survey, 51% of Australians felt that the company they worked for didnt align to their initial impressions, making the need for candid company research ever more necessary.Dean Davidson, Executive General Manager at Hudson Recruitment Australia advises to research as much as you can about the organisation – its history, corporate culture, competitors, profitably and future plans, for example. As you prepare for your upcoming interview, weve simplified this list to a few things to research about your potential new employer.
In a SEEK survey, 51% of Australians felt that the company they worked for didnt align to their initial impressions, making the need for candid company research ever more necessary.
Quick Ways To Prepare For A Last
Sometimes you dont have days or weeks to prepare for a job interview. Sometimes, you may only have a few hours If youre called in for a last-minute job interview, dont assume that theres nothing meaningful you can do to prepare in the hours and minutes leading up to the meeting. Even if youre left scrambling, there are a few important preparations you should make that could mean the difference between a successful interview and a job offer or more time on the job market.
Even if you only have a few hours to prepare, you should be able to squeeze in the following:
Read the companys website
Interview prep 101, going over the most important pages on the organization, company, or departments website is the fastest way to get a basic sense of the employer brand and what theyre all about. It may also give you some ideas for questions youd like to ask in the interview.
Look at their social media accounts
If the organization is active on social media, have a quick look at their last month or two of posts to get a sense of the kinds of news or messaging theyre pushing out. This will give you an idea of any recent events or happenings and also what they consider a priority.
See if theyve been in the news
Look up your interviewers
Reach out to your network
Job description keywords
Jot down a few questions of your own.
Read over your resume & cover letter one last time
Get a good nights sleep
Is There Any Type Of Test I Should Prepare For
There may be several tests you have to take depending on the role including personality tests, aptitude tests, or others.
For example, if youre a CAD designer interviewing for an engineering staffing agency at a company there is a good chance you may have to take a CAD test to prove your skills. Ask the recruiter ahead of time if there will be one to avoid any surprises.
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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.
Plan Something For Afterwards
So maybe youre not looking forward to nervous-sweating for two hours in front of a complete stranger, but whats something youd be excited to power through this for? A nice meal? A massage? A date with your dog and your favorite Netflix show? Whatever it is, prepare for it to be ready for you when youre donethis way, you have something awesome to look forward to and focus on, instead of your jitters.
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Try To Learn Up Too Many Things The Night Before:
As mentioned above, appearing well prepare for an interview is a very good idea. If you are someone that has been looking for a job for a considerable period it is advisable that while searching for a job you should constantly try to improve your knowledge by reading up and looking for information online as well.
The harder you try, the better your chances are of getting a job. You should never try to learn up too much information just the day before your exam as that is going to make you feel even more nervous and uncomfortable.
Practice The Stop Method
According to executive coach Chris Charyk, this is the ultimate mental trick to tackle any stressful situation. It goes like this:
- Stop what youre doing and focus on your thoughts.
- Take a few deep breaths.
- Observe whats going on in your body, emotions, and mind, and why youre feeling them.
- Proceed with an intention to incorporate what you observed in your actions.
The importance of this technique is to slow down and be deliberate not just in the things you do, but the feelings you let take over. It reminds you that you have the power to banish your own fears, doubts, and nerves in even the most pressure-cooker situations.
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Sending An Email To Confirm An Interview
Congratulations! You scored that interview. What should you do next? It’s a good idea to accept and confirm the interview with an email, even if you have spoken with the hiring manager or human resources representative on the phone.
That way, you can be certain that you have all the details correct, you know where you’re going, when you should be there, and who you will be meeting with .
Speak In A Voice Which Is Too Loud:
During an interview, you are expected to speak impressively. All recruiters are looking to hire people on board who can speak properly and have effective communicative skills.
If your manner of speaking is not up to the mark, making it big in the corporate world might prove to be too challenging a task for you. What you must simply never do during an interview is speak in a loud voice.
Doing this will project you as someone who has no manners at all. So properly modulate your voice so that at no point in time are you either too soft or too loud.
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Tips For After The Interview
When the interview is over, give yourself the best chances of moving forward by doing the following:
20. Ask about next steps. After your interview, it is appropriate to ask either your interviewer, hiring manager or recruiter about what you should expect next. This will likely be a follow-up email with results from your interview, additional requirements like an assignment or reference list or another interview.
21. Send a personalized thank you letter after the interview. Ask for the business card of each person you speak with during the interview process so that you can follow up individually with a separate thank you email. If you interviewed in the morning, send your follow-up emails the same day. If you interviewed in the afternoon, the next morning is fine. Make certain that each email is distinct from the others, using the notes you took during the conversations.
What To Do The Day Of:
That is our list of the most important things to do before an interview. You dont need to memorize everything on that list. Just make yourself familiar with them and you should be fine. While some of these should just be normal parts of your daily routine, you would be surprised how stress can cause tons of people to forget these before a job interview and even cause job-related PTSD for some of us.
We actually hear from plenty of job-seekers who have taken pieces of this list and put it into a todo format on their phone or on paper. This gives the morning of the big day some structure and allows them to feel confident walking out of the door. If you think that youre someone who might benefit from this, jot down this list of things to do before a job interview and check them off as you go.
No one ever suffered from being overly prepared!
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Why Is It Important To Prepare For An Interview
Interviewing is a skill, making practice essential in becoming a better interviewee. Interview practice involves learning how to answer questions related to your role and studying them. For example, you might pair with a friend and allow them to ask you a series of questions. Doing this assesses how well you answer each question in the moment and how well you approach questions that are unfamiliar to you. Practicing is also a time to work on your posture, appearance and non-verbal communication such as how you use your hands in conversation.
What To Do Hours Before A Big Job Interview
Your big interview is just ahead, just hours away. You feel your stress levels rising, your thoughts scurrying around your brain fast and furious. Then, you stop yourself and ask: What should I be doing now?
If your big interview is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., you need a plan to make the most of the hours beforehand. Spend the time so you are calm, confident and prepared when you show up for the interview. In an ideal world you might take the day off work or a half day, so you can focus on interview preparation and self-care. But even if you can only take an extra hour or so, use the time beforehand carefully.
What should you do? I asked two career experts this question – Donna Schilder, a leadership and career coach from Long Beach, Calif., and Kainne Hansbury, a technology recruiter/principal with Winter Wyman.
They shared plenty of suggestions, which I’ve synthesized into these five big ideas:
1. Review your resume. Make sure you have a few copies printed and ready to take along. Then read it over and match it up against the job description. Consider how to sell yourself smoothly. Come up with great answers to show how you fill in any skills that may be in short supply or aren’t well developed yet, said Hansbury.
5. Clear your head and let go of stress. Take a short walk and say an affirmation, suggests Schilder. Meditate. Read a book. Try some deep breathing, she said, adding: It’s so important to put yourself in a really good mental place.”
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Breathe Deep And Slow
When we are stressed our breathing patterns change: the breath gets shallower, the rate quickens, and our hearts start to race. Breathing techniques can help to reduce your heart rate and make you feel calmer.
There are many different breathing techniques out there, but one of the simplest centres on slow breathing: breathe in normally but focus on exhaling slowly and steadily until your lungs are completely empty. Extending your exhalation will naturally deepen your inhalation. Keep doing this for a few minutes until you feel more relaxed.
Follow Up With A Thank You Note
Follow up a job interview with a thank-you note or email reiterating your interest in the job.
Consider your thank-you letter as a follow-up “sales” letter. Restate why you want the job, what your qualifications are, how you might make significant contributions, and so on.
This thank-you letter is also the perfect opportunity to discuss anything of importance that your interviewer neglected to ask or that you neglected to answer as thoroughly, or as well, as you would have liked. Good luck!
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Tips For Staying Calm During A Job Interview
Youre in the hot seat. Your palms are sweaty voice is shaky face is flushed and mouth is dry. Maybe youre bouncing your knees and talking too fast. Perhaps your heart is racing or your stomach is turning.
Youre nervous.
Why does this happen to so many job candidates?
When we perceive that we are in a high stakes situation, the brain doesn’t distinguish the high stakes of a job interview–where it would help to be calm, cool and collected–from the high stakes of being under threat from attack , says Dr. Tamar Chansky, author of Freeing Yourself from Anxiety. The body responds the same way–gearing up to run or fight for our lives. We experience a myriad of highly inconvenient and uncomfortable reactions which would make complete sense if there really were a tiger there.
In most cases, it may be the first time that the interviewer has met you and they will be making some initial judgments or first impressions, says Nichole Lefelhoc, associate director of career development and internships at Mansfield University. We want them to be good, of course, which makes us nervous. There could be some outlying issues that make us even more nervous for example, being unemployed or having little experience with interviews.
Lack of preparation is another common culprit.
This kind of anxiety can make it difficult to think clearly, Chansky says. Our focus is on hiding our anxiety and so our attention is divided.
Plan.
Staying Calm Before The Interview
5.Anticipate the interview questions
Putting your mind at ease before an interview is essential, so make sure you are ready to face whatever questions they might throw at you and are prepared to talk about yourself positively. A lack of prep is likely to increase your natural apprehension about the event itself and make nerves harder to overcome.
6.Clear your head
Before the interview begins, take as much time as you can to gather your thoughts and work with your body, not against it. If you have the opportunity, taking a short stroll around the block can be immensely helpful, as sitting still will give you time to stew and will not provide the hit of endorphins that light exercise can deliver to quell any qualms.
7.Avoid stimulants
What you eat and drink before an interview plays a big part in how your nerves manifest themselves. Steer clear of coffee and other caffeinated drinks, as these will make you more likely to appear shaky and unable to concentrate. Drink water, but make sure that you enter the interview room with an empty bladder to avoid distraction.
8.Chew gum
Some experts advise that chewing a stick of gum can smooth out any jangling nerves, but remember to dispose of it discretely well before you encounter anyone in your potential place of employment, as this is not a good look for a first meeting.
9.Repeat confidence-boosting mantras
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Know Your Likes And Dislikes
A huge difference exists between spending your entire workday interacting with people versus sitting in front of a computer screen analyzing data all day. Creating a spreadsheet that highlights sales figures and presenting that to your boss weekly is vastly different from standing in front of a group of twenty to thirty peers and managers and presenting that data.
You must know your likes and dislikes because a workday can be long, and you should at least like most of what you will be doing. Some people are motivated by the amount of money they will make in a job, however, and if that works for them, itâs sufficient. Itâs also important, however, to like the type of work you will be doing. It makes for a miserable day, week, month, and year if you do not.
College internships are key because they expose you to work you might like, as well as work you definitely would not like. Having as many internships as possible is a goal every college student should have. It may be helpful to know that the vast majority of companies hire mostly juniors because they will graduate in one year and some companies would like to extend full-time offers to their summer class. But donât let that dissuade you from seeking an internship if you are a freshman or sophomore. It may be more difficult to obtain an internship, but itâs definitely worth the effort if it gets you closer to what you do or do not want to do on a full-time basis.
Create A List Of Items That You Did Well And That You Would Like To Improve On
This can be one of the most effective things to do after an interview because it will allow you to improve for future job interviews, or assess general weaknesses that will be helpful in your career. Doing this right after an interview is ideal as well because everything will be fresh. It doesnt have to be a big fancy list, bullet points will do. The most important thing to remember is to be brutally honest with yourself. Even if you didnt like the way the interview was conducted, theres always something you can do to improve. Find it!
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