The interview process can be intimidating, especially for those new to the workforce. This will serve as your comprehensive guide to preparing for interviews, equipping you with the tools and knowledge to confidently present yourself and land that job.
1. Self-Assessment
When preparing for an interview, reflect on your skills, strengths, weaknesses, and career goals. You may already be aware of these yourself, but there is no harm in identifying them beforehand. Identify your unique selling points – consider your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, internships, and relevant experiences.
2. Research the Company
Understanding the company you are interviewing with is essential. Research its mission, values, products, services, recent news, and corporate culture. It will allow you to understand the company you are applying for. Sometimes we get distracted applying just to land a job, any job. But it is also important to think about how we will adapt to the environment that we might potentially be in.
3. Prepare Your Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is far more than just presentations or sales. It can be in any situation where you convince someone or a group of people of something you strongly believe in. Prepare a concise elevator pitch that introduces yourself, highlights your educational background, and briefly outlines your career aspirations. This is your chance to make a first impression and set the tone for the interview.
4. Master the Basics
Be ready to answer common interview questions such as “Tell me about yourself,” “What made you apply to this role” and “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” These are basic questions we usually thought we had aced already, but when it is time for the interview, we get lost, and our answers tend to be all over the place.
5. Showcase Your Soft Skills
You may not have a wealth of professional experience, but you can still impress interviewers by highlighting your soft skills – qualities like teamwork, communication, adaptability, and problem-solving. Most companies nowadays focus more on how you go about an assignment or a task rather than the actual task. As they say, you can learn any work if you have the right attitude towards it. Provide concrete examples from your academic projects, group assignments, or volunteer work demonstrating these skills.
6. Tell Your Stories
Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to structure your responses when discussing past experiences. Describe the situation. Tell the story of how the event or situation happened. Iterate the task assigned to you. Detail the actions you took and explain the results or outcomes you achieved. Interview questions now moved away from basic knowledge and focused on how you handle difficult situations or unexpected results from structured activities. Sharing stories highlighting your abilities will make your interview more engaging and memorable.
7. Prepare Questions
At the end of the interview, you will likely be given the chance to ask questions. Prepare thoughtful questions about the company’s culture, team dynamics, opportunities for growth, or specific projects. You can ask questions about the company’s purpose for existing. These days, companies are not just for profit; most of them are building towards a holistic approach based on brand equity. It is important to work in a company that embodies your values and goals personally and professionally.
8. Dress and Etiquette
Choose your interview attire carefully, aiming for a professional and polished look. Pay attention to grooming, posture, and body language during the interview. A friendly smile, composed body movements and eye contact convey confidence and enthusiasm.
9. Mock Interviews
Practice makes perfect. Enlist the help of friends, family, or career counsellors for mock interview sessions. It may be awkward, as sometimes you tend to be shy doing these things with the people who know you best, but it will help you gain momentum before your series of interviews. This allows you to receive constructive feedback, refine your responses, and build confidence.
Job hunting can be challenging. Some get hired by the company they first applied to, but some have to get through multiple interviews from different companies. Keep learning from each experience. You may feel discouraged by setbacks. But this should never stop you from doing more interviews until you finally land the job that you want.
Remember, interviews are a chance for you and the employer to assess the fit. It is not only for the employers to evaluate you but also your chance to do better in every interview you accept.