Interview Facts You Probably Don't Know

 

Job interview? As easy as pie!

The way you get prepared for the interview and the way you behave influence directly the result. Read our post on interview facts you probably don't know and you will learn how to make an impression of yourself as an employee, whom a company needs, and how to get work.

The aim of interview passing is to show that your skills, knowledge and work experience are perfectly suit the requirements of a vacancy. During the interview you need too show that you consciously have chosen this very position, demonstrate your knowledge of profession, company and field, to which it is related, and your desire to work in this company.

In this post about interview facts we are going to consider the following questions:

a) How to get prepared for an interview?

b) How to pass interview successfully?

c) What questions are usually asked at the interview?

d) Possible indirect causes of failure in hiring.

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How to get prepared for an interview

Getting prepared for an interview it is very important to undertake a preliminary “investigation”. You need to gather as much as possible information about the company, where you are going for a job interview, and about people, whom you are going to meet.

You can get useful information in different ways. If we are talking about a large enterprise, then you should learn some facts about its products or services. Many organizations distribute their leaflets and brochures. Try to find the articles in the press or on the internet about the organization. You can talk to a person who works or used to work in the organization. He or she can tell you much useful information, however you should take into consideration that everything he / she says is subjective opinion. Maybe, an HR manager or a consultant of a recruitment agency, to which you have applied, can answer some of your questions.

What you need to know about organization, to which you are invited for an interview:

1) what products or services are offered by the organization;

2) where and to whom products and services are sold;

3) how many years the organization exists;

4) how much the tasks of the organization have changed since the time of its foundation;

5) if the management team is stable or it changes often;

6) what the legal status of the organization is;

7) if there were attempts of absorption of the organization by other companies;

8) if the organization got a profit the last year (last three years);

9) if there was a staff reductions in the last three years; why;

10) if the organization belongs to any other larger union;

11) if the press pays much attention to the organization and why;

12) that press reviews about the organization are;

13) what attitude to the employees in the organization is;

14) what new projects are being developed in the organization;

15) if the organization located in the country or has partners or branch offices abroad;

16) what prospects for the industry are, which the organization belongs to.

Some tips

The second thing you need to do within preparation to the interview is to conduct self-examination and think over the answers to the questions that you may be asked during the interview. Some questions can have purely practical nature (“Are you ready to spend 30% of your time on business trips?”), others can have aim to assess your motivation, define the range of your interest, check the professional competence, awareness of the company and the industry, and your ability to find the right solutions quickly.

Before the interview think what you will wear. Appearance and demeanor are very important since they create the first impression. If you go to an interview at a financial institution, choose conservative business dress code. If you go to an interview at a building organization or a design firm, you may wear something more casual. For a woman it is better to wear a formal suit or a conservative dress. It is better to avoid using sharp perfume or cologne.

Make sure in advance that you know how to get to the company building, and where to park the car. Leave the house earlier to be in time.

Get enough sleep the night before you go to the interview. Sleepy people never make good impression. Try to go to bed at the usual time, not earlier and not later.

Do not forget to take with you as much documents as possible that prove your qualification, education and additional knowledge.

Remember that choosing between several candidates with pretty much the same qualification, your ability to make favourable impression during the interview may play the key role.

How to pass interview successfully

As a rule, any interview starts with the more concrete questions about your professional training or a description of the vacant position and the organization as a whole. Listen attentively. Keep the conversation direction set by the interviewer. You should try to tell about yourself everything that can benefit you. Your answers to the questions should be direct and precise, it means that you should not go beyond the topic. However, it does not mean that you should say only “yes” or “no”.

There are answers that are repeated for million times, for example “I like working with people”. Even if it is really so, try to avoid clichés. For example, tell about your manner of work with clients. Absence of clichés and banal things create good impression. At the same time answering a question you can add necessary information. For example, if they ask you what responsibilities you had in the advertising department, you can not only tell about them, but also add that in six months of your work newspaper advertising became 25% more effective. This will be a direct answer and no one will say that such addition is inappropriate.

During the interview you need to correlate all the time your professional experience or education with real responsibilities of the position you are applying to. Talking about your past negative experience, give arguments and explain the reasons due to which you have quitted or have been dismissed without showing your offence. If you want to seem like mature person, try to present the situation objectively.

With regard to wages, you can name a salary that will satisfy you, but not sooner than you are asked about it.

Tell the truth. First of all, probably your anxiety and hesitation will be noticeable and a recruiter may start to doubt. Each inaccuracy will deepen the doubts and cause further questions. Second of all, you are risking to be in a very unpleasant situation if during the second interview you forget what you have said during the first. Thirdly, if you manage to convince someone now, then later when you are employed you will have to demonstrate what you have been talking about. Even if they do not discover your lie, you will constantly be afraid of disclosure.

If they ask you to fill some forms, it would be better to take them with you and return as soon as possible. Remember that everything matters: literacy, blots, handwriting, and the clarity of the wording.

Behavior rules

1) Be polite and kind to everyone, whom you meet in office. Do not forget to smile entering the recruiter’s office. Also remember about the importance of gesture language. Your handshaking is also important. Watch your posture and try to look into the eyes.

2) When you greet the representative of a company, do not shake hands first.

3) Do not sit down until you are offered to sit.

4) If you are introduced to someone, make every effort to properly hear and remember the person's name. If you speak to a person for the first time and call him by name, you will make a very favourable impression. Asking again you will demonstrate excessive nervousness.

5) It is important to find out the interview duration and to adhere to the agreed time. It will help to properly allocate the time between questions and answers and to define the level of how much detailed answers you should give.

6) Do not forget finishing the conversation to discuss when and how you will be informed about the result and thank the interviewer.

What questions are usually asked at the interview?

1. Do you have any question? This question can be made in the interview beginning, so only preliminary preparation will help you in this case.

2. Tell about yourself (What responsibilities do you have?). In a brief two-minute answer you can tell about your education and work experience, at the same time try to prove that you are a perfect candidate for the position.

3. Why did you choose this work (company, education)? Give strong serious reasons, such as growth possibilities, useful experience and so on.

4. Have you got other job offers? If yes, say about it honestly, it will increase your chances. Of course, you need to add that this work interests you more.

5. Have you passed interview in other companies? As a rule, you can answer “yes”, but without specifying where exactly.

6. Will not your personal life interfere with the work connected with business trips and irregular working hours? This question if usually made to women. It is forbidden by the law to make such questions. So you can answer confidently “no”.

7. What are your strengths? Emphasize the skills useful for the position first of all. Give examples from your personal life during the years of education or work.

8. What are your weaknesses? Never answer honestly this question. You need to use it to increase your chances. It is better to speak about such a weakness that is a logical continuation of your strengths.

9. Why do you want to get this very job? Why should we hire you? You need to prepare to answer this question in advance. They expect that you are aware of the company affairs. The lack of knowledge about the company or the field is one of the reasons for rejection of a candidate.

10. Why did you quit your previous workplace / decide to change your job? Do not talk about a conflict and accuse your former boss or employer. You may answer something like “Due to the future company reorganization, I doubt I can be useful there”, “I can not realize my potential fully”, “There is no possibilities for career growth” and so on. If an interviewer knows that you have had a conflict, explain that it was a unique case connected with certain circumstances, and emphasize everything positive what you had at your previous work, such as gained work experience, skills and so on.

11. How do you imagine your position in five (ten) years? It is better to answer vaguely. For example, “I would like to work in this organization but on a more responsible work”.

12. What salary do you expect to have? It is better to try to avoid the answer, saying that you do not think that salary issue is something that needs to be discussed first. If interviewer insists, try to figure out what salary the company is ready to offer. If still you have to name the number, name the sum slightly above average or upper and lower bounds of the expected amount.

13. What else would you like to know? Never say that you do not have questions. You can ask about the content of your future work, about what company expect from the candidate on this position, or specify something that is not clear from your conversation and so on.

14. If you get the job, what are your first steps? This question is usually made to the candidates for the management or administrative positions. You need to show that you are familiar with suchlike situations and demonstrate your ability to take the initiative. However, do not overdo.

15. What are your biggest achievements? Make a list of your biggest achievements for the last 5 years, in which you will probably give the numbers that will allow to evaluate the size of your success.

16. What a boss should be in your opinion? In fact they want to figure out whether you tend to conflict with a boss. The perfect answer is “A competent strong leader, from whom I could learn, who will give me a chance to test my own strength, who will teach me and scold if necessary”.

Possible indirect causes of failure in hiring

Here is a list of possible reasons for refusal: being late for an interview; weak handshake; wretched appearance, sloppiness; unwillingness to look the interviewer in the eye; inability to communicate: a weak voice, poor diction, gibberish; know-all manners; lack of interest and enthusiasm; lack of liveliness; lack of mental ballast; lack of sincerity; unclear answers to the questions, equivocation; lack of ability to orient yourself in society; indecision, lack of independence; the desire for self-justification, reference to the circumstances; lack of clear goal and tasks; lack of maturity; lack of tact; lack of politeness; cynicism; lack of discipline; unwillingness to learn; intolerance; radical ideas; inability to accept criticism; narrow interests; negative comments about former employers; excessive material interest; unwillingness to start from the bottom: the expectation of too much and too fast; inability to participate in the affairs in addition to the schedule; absence of questions to an interviewer about work.

So as you can see it is important to prepare for a job interview properly. Also it is important to have a competently written resume to be invited for an interview. If you want to get good resume, we advise you to use the services of professional resume writers Chicago. Visit our resume writing website and contact our team for more details.