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Summary:
I have an interview coming up against some tough competition and I am very
nervous. Does anyone have any tips to better prepare myself for the interview?
Answer1:
Interviews are a lot of work and require serious preparation. Review your
recent performance and have examples of how you 1) solved a complex issue,
2) displayed leadership, 3) exhibited team spirit. Focus on accomplishments.
Review in detail the requirements of this new post.
Wear a nice suit and be clean-shaved.
Anticipate possible questions and have some well prepared responses. Be
ready to ASK GOOD QUESTIONS.
Answer2:
Being nervous is natural, especially for an important experience
you are about to go through. Some suggestions:
- Review the company, the division and the people you are going
to work for. Learn as much about them, their products, their
vision, their mission, etc... Study online resources for this
information, but also get on the phone, even seek meetings
(informal ones) with others in the company, or with those who
know the company. This is considered a normal/natural part of
your job seeking homework, by the way. Learn all you can, as
it’s in your best interest.
- Have one, or more, people who you know/trust to give you a
series of mock interviews. What worked for me in this area (your
mileage may vary!) was for my mock interviewer to set up a
series of 3-5 interviews, each was to be a new/unique session
and to put me through a variety of typical scenario's. I was
fortunate that this was a person who does this for a living. I
was blunt and candid in what I wanted, and expected to be shown
what a nice/good/effective interview SHOULD be like, but to also
pointedly put me on the spot with how things can go wrong. Each
session was treated like a full and FORMAL job interview, to
include suit, demeanor and complete interview set of questions,
answers and discussion. Afterward there was a blunt and candid
review of what the objectives for that session were (from HIS
perspective), what areas I did well on, where I did
poorly/badly, identification of areas of opportunity where I
missed out on something good (or bad) to capitalize on, and
objective suggestions for improving my body language, demeanor,
language, and attitude. In my mind, I wanted these mock
interviews to take their best shots at ripping me to shreds, and
see where my strong/weak points were. The reviews afterward were
essential to improving my understanding of MYSELF and what I
MUST improve in order to get through the interview. For me, this
proved to be a winning move.
- Go into the interview eager and ready to experience it. Relish
and enjoy every moment of it. You will get to do it so
infrequently, that this is a golden opportunity to experience to
the fullest. You may think I'm kidding ---I'm not. By adjusting
yourself so that this IS your mindset and approach, you'll find
it not only enjoyable, but very rewarding as well.
- I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable than me can address the
interview questions 'issue'. I know there are lots of resources
on the internet to research the plethora of interview questions
and types, etc... My suggestion, at this point in your
life/career, to not worry so much about the questions, as to
what you can give and offer this company. On the other hand, you
certainly should have your own list of questions, written down
is fine, of what you want to know about them. Especially about
your work environment, expectations of you and your time, etc...
Start off general ("what can you tell me about the company") and
work to being more specific ("what can you tell me about the
division", what can you tell me about the position you are
hiring me for", etc....").
- Try this approach on being calm---think about, and
continuously remind yourself in productive, enriching and
positive ways that you will calmly and rationally be successful
in this interview. Mentally focus on what you WANT, vice what
you don't want. It’s fine to honestly self-evaluate how you are
today. What is really important is HOW will you improve? What
can you do better, and what are you doing about it now? Another
approach is that being nervous is your minds way of telling you
to be careful. You are in control of yourself. You decide what
is important or worrisome. So, tell your mind what to think and
how to act. Such an improvement can occur over time when you are
persistent. Think about it. Side note: I've found in life,
people who focus on what they don't want, or like, as the case
may be, don't see how negative that is. They really believe that
by telling themselves NOT to do something that somehow,
magically, the RIGHT thing they are supposed to be doing will
magically occur. It doesn't work that way. I've found when you
positively and actively WANT something to occur, then make that
accomplishment the focus of your attention --- it happens. I
believe that occurs because you've DONE something, as opposed to
the alternative of attempting to NOT do something. I believe the
former is a positive builder in our lives. Be optimistic.
- You gave the impression that you'd have some stiff competition
for this job. Competition is a good thing. Go in with your best
foot forward. Be honest, show them that you are more than
interested in doing your best every day. Convey, throughout the
interview-using every question as an opportunity, to explain to
them HOW dedicated you are, HOW energetic your day-to-day
performance is now (and will continue to be for them), that you
are the best candidate even with your 'limited' experience
(because you can work harder, smarter, faster, with stellar
results), that you are a quick learner, that you are able to
efficiently and effectively apply new rules to existing
paradigm's, etc.... In accomplishing this, I don't mean for you
to embelish who and what you are, simply have this (the above)
as your mindset, and as a way to EXPLAIN/justify and demonstrate
that YOU are confident you are the best candidate. Note: In this
context, I mean no offense with the reference to your being
'limited', simply saying that your skills are what they are, and
that it is normal to recognize others (your competition?) have
more time, and possibly even more talent/skill than you do. In
fact, consider the amount of your skills, and that you are
positively approaching this job opportunity as an 'asset'. You
are bringing knowledge and experience to the table. You'll
accept direction on what they want, and how they want it, but
will also tap into your own talents, skills, abilities and
creativity to do the job even better. Review your resume, the
one THEY have, the night before. Study it closely, as they will
ask you questions based on what they see, and don't see. I've
seen a good interview go VERY bad, simply because the
interviewee wasn't cognizant of the content of their own
resume. Focus on your talents and skills. Don't BS the
interviewer with smoke and mirrors. More than likely they'll
catch on rather quickly that you are smart, patient and honest
(desired qualities!!!) or that you aren't (bad).
- Be honest regarding what you can do, and only volunteer what
you are bad at, or cannot do when questioned about something
specific that you can't do. Its reasonable to know your
limitations, and that you can candidly explain the breadth of
your abilities (and limits). If you find they focus on 'stuff'
you don't know, its ok. Expect such questions and take them in
stride. Follow up with your speed/willingness to learn AND apply
it correctly.
- Finally, as quickly as possible after the interview, sit down
(in your car even) and take notes on what occurred. What could
you have done better? What things did you mention or explain,
that your resume SHOULD have addressed? What did you do right,
and can capitalize on in the future? What questions were asked,
and how you answered them. Its normal that you won't remember
everything, yet by documenting the gist of it when it is fresh
in your mind, will be productive and helpful when you go
through, and prepare for, the next interview. You think you were
going to stay in this new job for forever, did you?
Do NOT take it personally, if you don't get this job. Instead,
reflect on this interview, work on areas you can improve on, and
move on to seeking out the next one. More than likely, the
company hired the best candidate, and that honestly will not
always be you. That is ok and should be acceptable in your
mind. Such things happen, and companies make job-hiring
decisions in light of what is best for the company. It greatly
helps to realize that these are business decisions and not an
adverse indicator of you (which it isn't!).
Answer3:
As an advice on interviews, the best way is to be honest in your
answers. If you have never worked on the task that is asked on
the interview, the best answer is to say I can learn anything
quickly even though I have never worked with what they ask I
have a proven track record on learning new tasks quickly. It is
important to bring the positive first and not the
negative. Example, I never have worked with the software but I
can learn quickly. See, in the example, the interviewer will
only hear the negative and not the ending part of the sentence.
Another word of advice, be yourself. It is not advisable to
rehearse answers on a face to face interview. The reason is that
the interviewer will pick up on it and try to trip you up or not
believe your answers.
You should also be relaxed. Remember the person who is
interviewing you must want to talk to you and like what you have
to offer or they would have never agreed to an interview. You
should also remember that the person interviewing you has been
in your position before and will understand some anxiety.
*Questions excerpted from
ITToolBox.com*
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