How to get ready for an interview
During an interview, you have the chance to showcase your personality, interest in the organisation, and suitability for the position. In addition to ensuring you can respond to the questions you’ll probably be asked, being prepared for an interview can help you feel at ease and confident on the big day. You can take a lot of actions to get ready for any kind of interview. We offer multiple strategies in this post to help you prepare for your upcoming interview.
How to get ready for an interview
Getting ready for an interview is a crucial stage in the process of finding a new job. Making a detailed plan might help you stand out from the competition and maintain composure during the interview. The following list of actions will assist you in getting ready for your interview:
1. Examine the job specification.
2. Examine your credentials and objectives
3. Examine the organisational structure of the business.
4. Review questions for interviews.
5. Get ready for an assessment unique to your sector or function.
6. Create a list of enquiries for the interviewer.
7. Make copies of your resume.
8. Prepare travel arrangements
9. Prepare a follow-up email in advance.
1. Examine the job specification.
You can better understand the skills, experience, and background the business is seeking in applicants for this position by carefully reading the job description. You can make the best decision about which of your credentials and attributes to highlight by using this information. Comprehending the job description can also provide you with more information about the organisation as a whole and assist you in formulating potential interview questions.
2. Examine your credentials and objectives
Once you’ve reminded yourself of the qualities the firm is seeking in candidates, go over your resume and note any qualifications you offered the company. You will probably be requested to comment on these. It could be necessary for you to describe how your experience aligns with the requirements of the role and the job description.
This is also an excellent moment to assess how this employment fits into your long-term objectives. Consider how this job might help you achieve your ultimate professional and personal goals and how it fits into your career path.
3. Examine the organisational structure of the business.
You may better assess how well you’ll fit in with the staff, management, and general corporate culture by fully understanding the organisation and your prospective role within it. This is something that you may be asked about. Some resources to look at before your interview are as follows:
- ‘About Us’ section of the company website
History, mission, and values of the company - Social networking for businesses
- Press releases and industry news
- venues for professional networking for the business and its staff
For information on employee satisfaction and compensation reports, see professional industry websites or national reporting agencies.
If you find information during your study on the company that you would like to discuss further, bring it up in the interview. The fact that you thought to enquire could impress the interviewer and show that you are interested.
4. Review questions for interviews.
Examining standard interview questions is an excellent way to get ready for an interview. By considering these queries, you may communicate effectively, truthfully, and in a favourable light. Make a note of your abilities and prior successes and consider how you can incorporate these into your responses to demonstrate that you would be a valuable asset to the organisation.
Typical interview enquiries could be:
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Why do you want this job?
Understanding the job description and the corporate purpose statement, as well as mentioning how it fits with your own career ambitions, is the best method to prepare for this question.
Example: ‘I’d want to work for a company where I can grow and make an effect,’ for instance. As far as I can determine, this business genuinely upholds the same moral principles that I do.
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What are your strengths and weaknesses?
This is your opportunity to discuss hard and soft abilities. Describe your own qualities that will help you be successful in this position. When discussing your shortcomings, emphasise how you believe working with this organisation can help you get better.
As an illustration, “As a social media manager, it really helps me to stay on top of trends and the best ways to communicate for the company.” I’m an early adopter of new technology and applications. In addition, I’m trying to communicate myself more effectively, and I think the company’s regular morning meetings are a terrific method to do so.
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In five years, where do you see yourself?
Here, the interviewer is really trying to find out two things: first, what are your long-term objectives, and second, do you see yourself working for this organisation for a long time? Describe the potential advanced positions you hope to occupy at the organisation as your career progresses, and try to relate your ultimate professional ambitions to the skills and experience you plan to achieve in this capacity.
For instance, “In the next five years or less, I hope to go from assistant product manager to product manager.” Being a product manager requires you to be familiar with every facet of a specific product and its brand, thus I believe it’s advantageous to stay with the same firm for an extended length of time to gain a thorough understanding of the workings.
5. Prepare for industry- or role-specific evaluation
In order for the interviewer to assess your abilities at work, you should also be ready for any tests or assessments that may be required of you. In an interview for a computer programming job, for instance, you would be asked to analyse code, or in a supply chain management interview, you might be given a hypothetical problem and asked how you would address it. Take a confident approach to this kind of assessment and discuss your thought process so the interviewer can better understand your working style.
6. Create a list of enquiries for the interviewer.
Making a good first impression can be achieved by posing intelligent enquiries on the role and the business. To demonstrate that you are well-informed about the role and are eager to learn more about the organisation, prepare a few questions to ask the interviewer. The following are some queries you may have:
- How does an individual in this role typically spend their day?
- What do you like best about your job at this company?
- I’ve had a great time researching this position. What stages of the hiring process are left to complete?
7. Make copies of your resume.
Although the interviewer most likely already has access to a digital copy of your resume, carrying a printed copy with you demonstrates your readiness. Bring three copies at the very least for the interviewers, plus one extra for you to keep track of.
8. Prepare travel arrangements
Establish the location of your interview, the approximate time it will take you to get there from your house, and the most practical way to get there by car. Planning your trip will help to guarantee that you get at the interview on time, which will boost your confidence and show that you are a professional and good with time management. To make sure everything runs properly on the day of the interview, follow these steps:
Arrive early: Plan ahead for possible traffic or travel delays by leaving early, once you know how long it will take to arrive to the interview site. Furthermore, it’s a wonderful idea to arrive fifteen minutes early to demonstrate your ability to plan ahead and your interest in the position. During that time, get yourself mentally ready, go over your resume, and become acquainted with the facility.
Examine the area: Try to visit the building where the interview will take place a few days prior to the planned time, if you have the time. Study the area if you don’t have time. Examine the schedules of nearby trains and find out about potential disruptions to your journey, like scheduled maintenance or station closures. If you are unable to discover enough information, give the interviewer a call and request additional details about the region.
Keep the contact details from the interview: Have your interviewer’s phone number on hand in case there is an unforeseen travel delay so you may notify them. In order to show them respect for their time, try to give a reasonable amount of notice, like an hour.
9. Prepare a follow-up email in advance.
It is a good idea to send your interviewer an email a few days following the interview. This allows you to bring up any things you neglected to discuss, reminds the interviewer of your interaction with them, and demonstrates to them that you are still interested in the job.
A regular greeting, a structure for points you want to include (such a reference to a conversation topic), and places to put any information you want to stress should all be included in the message you create before the interview. Saying that you hope to hear back is a good way to end. After the interview, you can quickly and efficiently complete the draft and send it.