The interview is often something that causes our heart to race and a sweat to break out, but it need not be. Being interviewed is a skill, and if you do some preparation from your side, your heart will race, but only because you’re excited and because you know you’ve aced the interview when you walk out.

Your first step in the interview is to make a great first impression with everyone that you meet. The more the interviewers like you, the more likely they are going to invite you to the next step in the process.

Some of the ways to improve your first impression are:

·         Introduce yourself to everyone you meet

·         Keep a positive attitude throughout the interview

·         Smile, nod and remain interested in everything the interviewer tells you

·         Ask great questions – prepare some questions ahead of time to ask during the interview.

·         Focus on the benefits of hiring you. By keeping the conversation on your accomplishments and abilities, companies

Some things to avoid

·         Don’t smoke beforehand

·         Don’t talk about salary, benefits, etc. Those are things for the second interview or for when you are offered the position

·         Don’t come unprepared. Learn everything you can about the company and the position

·         Don’t arrive late, get lost, or do anything that could make you appear disorganised before the interview even begins.

Below are some common interview questions, and reading through these, we recommend you take the time to actually draft up your own answers so that, if and when you get asked these, you’ll have the right answer at hand and won’t be left flustered. A confident answer, given in a short space of time will be more sincere and appealing to your potential employer, than if you are left speechless and lost for words.

So, tell me a little about yourself...

Relevant facts about education, your career and your current life situation are fine

Why are you looking (or why did you leave you last job)?

This should be a straightforward question to answer, but it can trip you up.  Presumably you are looking for a new job (or any job) because you want to advance your career and get a position that allows you to grow as a person and an employee

Tell me what you know about this company.

Do your homework before you go to any interview. You should know about the company or business you're going to work for. Has this company been in the news lately? Who are the people in the company you should know about?

How are you when you're working under pressure?

Once again, there are a few ways to answer this but they should all be positive. You may work well under pressure, you may thrive under pressure, and you may actually prefer working under pressure.

What's your greatest strength?

This is your chance to shine. You're being asked to explain why you are a great employee, so don't hold back and stay positive. You could be someone who thrives under pressure, a great motivator, an amazing problem solver or someone with extraordinary attention to detail.

What's your biggest weakness?

If you're asked this question, give a small, work-related flaw that you're working hard to improve.

After you’ve prepared some answers of your own, and have had your first interview, remember to send a follow up email to the person who interviewed you. Don’t ask questions, simply thank them for the interview, and mention that you would appreciate them letting you know next steps from their end.

Sources:

www.wisebread.com

www.everydayinterviewtips.com