Interview Success Tips

Imagining that an interviewer is asking me interview questions in his or her underwear has never worked for me. If the woman is hot I cannot concentrate on my answers at all and if the interviewer is a man I cannot make eye contact. So much for that tactic! There are some ways to overcome nervousness and be calm, cool, and collected in a job interview that have worked for me.

Though I have not been a job seeker since they were hiring at the Dinosaur wash these same tactics are still working for job hunters. Nervousness is often fear based and a great way to diminish fear is through confidence. There are several ways to build your confidence to the point where your nervousness is eradicated.

Here is one tactic that many people have told me completely transformed their interview performance. Change your state of mind about the purpose of your job interview. Instead of going in feeling like a specimen about to face the scrutiny of quality control on a human test line, go with the purpose of learning about the company. You can put the power of the job interview in your hands by realizing that you are going to make the decision about whether or not you even want to work for the company. Make your interview a fact finding mission in which you need to be impressed.

Knowledge is power and in this specific instance, this power will help you overcome apprehension and be in control when answering job interview questions. Just like taking a test, what if you knew all the answers to the questions? You suddenly realize you have nothing to worry about. I want to tell you that you do know most or all of the answers to interview questions!

Employers ask questions about you and you should be the most knowledgeable person in the world on that subject. Employers have the information that is on your resume so be informed about what is written there. Know your past job titles, dates of employment, and the skills you have listed. Be prepared to expound with up to three sentences on each of your accomplishments listed. You will no doubt be questioned about your skills. Again you know these answers.

Employers will usually not quiz you about their company but knowing general information can help you. Visit their website and read any press releases and publications about their business. Also be up to date on trends in the industry. Be ready to acknowledge the interviewer’s information about the company with a supporting fact about the company. You can often work this in naturally in the form of a question in response to a statement they have made for example, “Yes regarding your expansion, are you still planning to open 27 new stores this year?”

Another way to avoid tenseness in an interview is to be physically prepared. You want to arrive on time, dressed in your best, with several copies of your resume, two pens, and the information you will need to complete a job application if requested. You need to be detail oriented about your preparation. Know how long it will take for you to get to the job interview and exactly where you will be parking and reporting. Make a test run. If possible drive the route a day or two before and time the journey. Allow as much as twice the time you need the day of the interview.

In addition to having answers ready you can prepare some intelligent interview questions of your own. Interviewers expect candidates to ask questions so make yours count. Ask about the position responsibilities, what immediate challenges exist, what you can do that would exceed their expectations and the like. By asking what you can do to exceed expectations you can often get another perspective on what their minimal expectations are. You want to impress them yet you need to know if the company and job are in line with your goals.

Copyright 2011 by Phil Baker “The Hire Authority” and author of the bestseller: Employer Secrets. Freely distribute this article but please leave article, author name, copyright info, and links intact.