What does it take to be successful at job interviews?
Pretend you’re not nervous. Believe me, it’s not that hard. Just tell yourself that you’re not nervous and you won’t be. Sometimes having an alcoholic drink before the interview can help, but you may not feel like this if your interview is early in the morning. Make sure they can’t smell the alcohol on you, and have *one* drink, don’t get drunk. The other thing is that over-preparation will make you nervous. You obviously need to prepare – know what questions you will be asked and have answers ready, know lots about the company and the job, etc. But OVER-preparation = BAD. You will start to get muddled, you will sound like you have simply memorized everything and aren’t actually speaking from the heart, and you will get upset with yourself if you answer a question differently than how you had rehearsed. The trick that has always worked for me is to just be really casual. Not sloppy or rude; they are definite no-no’s. But chat with the interviewer as you would if you were meeting someon
PPP Preparation, Presentation, Practice. There are plenty of books writen on this subject but these three simple rules are all you need. Preparation, take the trouble to find out a bit about the company or the job you are applying for. Have a few questions that you can ask but try not to have them all on the subject of “what’s in it for me”. Keep it simple but try to get over what you can give to the Job. Presentation. Dress to suit the occasion & the job but above all be clean and always arrive a little early so that you can have a few minutes to compose yourself before hand. Practice, the more interviews you attend the more at ease you will become with doing it.
Nervousness can definitely affect you in your job search especially if confidence is a requirement for the position. If you will be interacting with strangers (customers, employees, etc) in the position you may want to put some substantial time into fixing this problem. Most people I meet with as a recruiter become nervous because they’re truly under prepared for the meeting or do not have the confidence required to function in this type of social setting. Practice makes perfect- the more you interview the more comfortable you will become with it. Trust me sometimes the interviewer can be nervous too! (if he is new to field, etc) I always recommend that College grads practice interviews and questions with family and friends. It has done wonders for the individuals I have worked with. Practice, prepare, practice, prepare…. be confident in who you’re.
Dont be scared talk to them like you would a close buddy, Me i graduated from Florida state, when i interview for my job i had to compete with a Harvard graduate, the only reason i got the job is because they had confidence i was going to be a good leader, and tell them that bring up childhood stories of how your a good leader, make them feel like your brave and that your not scared to be trapped in a mess and that you will always find a way, i also make over 95,000 a year now.
