If you want to lend professional job, forget that… any job – you will most likely have to go through interview, or even multiple interviews now days are becoming a very common hiring process. If you master these Job Interview Tips I share below, you can be confident in your chances of landing that job.

I would also love to hear your input and if you agree with these tips in the discussion area below.

There are so many articles available out there and upon deciding to write this post – I went ahead and read dozens of other most popular articles and compiled a list of the most common and talked about Top Tips for the job interviews as well as from personal experience I have had in the past. Make sure to see my post on why you NEED LinkedIn as a college student.

As it goes, if you really want something, you will have to work hard for it, nothing is given.

Before I dive in, I wanted to say that the order the tips for the job interview is not important in this post.

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Here we go,

1 Practice & Prepare

(If you really want to that job, you NEED to be prepared)

Practice, practice, practice… Review most common questions online available for this type of position and utilize sources like Glassdoor and Indeed to read reviews from other employees of the company and they even share the interview questions!

Prepare for the interview, again utilize the internet for insights of the company. Find out what exactly they are looking for in a new hire. You don’t have to learn everything about the company or even spend whole day, but get some basic information like company’s history, goals, and most recent big news about the company. This will help you to demonstrate the interest in the company you applied for.

2 Your Personality

Your perfect resume that has been redone hundreds of times might get the attention of the recruiters, but when you get to that sit and don’t stand out like your perfect resume, nothing good will come out of it.

Your personality is crucial because remember, it is the interviewer who is the decision maker and if you didn’t bond with them, your chances are slim. I’m sure you can relate to this by thinking about the person in your life that you just love talking to. Don’t try to fake it either. If you fake it to get the job, chances that you will last long are relatively slim. If you want to ever grow, choose a company that you are actually interested in.

Perfect your personality, become the person everybody wants to hang out with and talk to. If you need help how to become great with people, read this absolutely amazing book and one of my favorites below to master skills with people.

Book: How To Win Friends And Influence People

Remember that you have limited time in an interview and it is up to you to make the interviewer remember you over others.

3 Ask Questions

Use that research you did about company and ask questions that pertain the interest in the position and the company overall. Make sure the questions you ask are well-known too by the interviewer and not something that he/she will have to get back to you. The whole purpose of this is to bond with the interviewer and asking smart questions that they can answer will put you above others.

On the other hand, answer questions in its own unique way and not just basics why you want that position. really show the interest in the position and the company as a whole. Again, don’t fake it… They will sense it, that’s just what their job is and also yourself a favor that maybe that position is not for you.
M1 Finance

4 Personal Relevant Highlights are a Hit

For resume, as you may know that it is highly recommended to have only one page, sure some go 2+ pages, but the point is: the first page is a to the interviewer. You want to stand out right there and then as they pick up your resume from a pile of others.

What this bullet is about is not to worry about not being able to fit everything on the first page especially your personal highlights and relevant experiences that make you who you are.

Throw everything that you think is best for this position and save something really great as something you want to share personally and not just on the paper.

What do I mean? This could be anything but must be true. This could be things like running a business on side, attending church, volunteering every week, or something similar and talk very little but very persuasive and interesting and not just plain and simple.

Stand out from the rest of the typical corporate workers.

5 Prepare Ahead of Time

You need to make sure that you are prepared ahead of time with everything nice, ironed, washed, hair styled, and everything that can make you stand out.

If the interview is in the morning, prepare everything in the evening before, so you won’t spend time looking for that second sock in the morning or shoes to wear.

Also, bring portfolio with copies of your resume, pen, and paper to take notes with.

Which brings me to another point below

6 Being On Time

Don’t just be on time, but be early to the interview. Make sure you are aware of everything, including how to get there, parking, restroom if needed, etc…

This might be a common sense but I know too many people that are never on time for anything. This is not just about being on time as I mentioned, but be early – 10-15 minutes is plenty.

7 Be Confident, Smile, and Maintain Eye Contact

Realize hat the interviewer is not out there to get you. Your confidence with interviewer is crucial to landing a job. Relax, look in the eyes (appropriately), and stay as calm as possible. You need to show the interviewer that you are interested in the job and one of the best ways to show the confidence is the ability to look in the eyes and smile (appropriately again). Theres also a well-known rule of thumb 50/70 rule: You should maintain eye contact for 50 percent of the time while speaking and 70% of the time while listening. This helps to display interest and confidence. This skill takes practice, so practice it next time you talk to somebody.

In order for the interviewer to be comfortable with you, you need to make sure that you are comfortable with them and answer everything in professional manner, but avoid toxic words which I talk about below.

8 Absolutely Avoid Toxic Words on a Job Interview

Thanks to “Entrepreneur” site that I use very frequently I was able to pull some of the toxic words you must avoid. Here’s the list:

  • No
  • Er… Um… …
  • Whatever, OMG, bae… groovy? Forget about it
  • Sure, cool, kinda… …
  • We. Instead use “I
  • Dedicated, motivated, team player… …
  • Leverage, synergy, ideation… …
  • ‘Hit the ground running,’ ‘Circle back…’
  • Hate
  • Perfectionist

9 Stand Up, Handshake (Start and End), then Follow-Up

You might think you are having a perfect interview, but it’s not just about having a perfect interview “during”, but also before, and after. As you enter the room, smiling and hand shaking the interviewer is a start, but you must also leave the same way. It might be old school, bu it is a sign of respect connection with the interviewer.

Absolutely always follow-up with a thank-you note for the interview. It is best to send an email, note the same day or <24hrs after the interview. If you interviewed with multiple people, send each one individually a thank-you note. It is also great time to include things you forgot to mention during the interview.

Bottom Line

No matter what interview you are having and you really want the job or opportunity to work for that company in the future, you will have to play cards right and do whatever it takes to stand out from other applicants (your competition).

Next time you apply, be aware that as the position become more desirable, the more people will be applying for it and if you follow all of these tips I talked above, you will find yourself standing out from the crowd and possibility of landing the job.

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