Job interview: The 10 tricks to face it at its best
The job interview is a golden opportunity not to be wasted. Here are 10 valuable tricks to face it in the best possible way and be noted by recruiters.
The appointment for a job interview is one of those that can change life, especially if the outcome is positive. Supporting it in the best possible way is everyone's desire, but you have to play in advance and prepare yourself properly in the previous days, so as to reduce anxiety, agitation, confusion and improvisation to a minimum. The first impression to a job interview is the one that is valid. It is a valid rule because it is not rational and dictated by the feedback that the unconscious refers. That's why, having established personal skills and professional competences (well highlighted in the CV so much so that you get an interview), the aspect on which to focus in the "face-to-face" is direct and effective communication.
10 rules to bear in mind during the job interview
Having the right mental attitude is fundamental: The job interview is an exchange, a mutual knowledge and not a fourth degree at which you present yourself trembling and pale. Of course it's not easy but thinking about it will help to see the recruiter with other eyes. After all, it's there to find the best candidate, it has no interest in terrorizing him and running away.
Be self-confident: Prepare yourself in the days preceding the answers to the most frequently asked questions during a job interview but also the questions to be asked, especially with a view to gaining a deeper understanding of the company. Never open the topic of "money" first, usually it is the recruiter who introduces the speech (if not, you have to wait for the final phase of the interview).
Similar people tend to get closer: Look for a professional feeling with the recruiter. Let him understand that you share the company's vision and mission (which you have studied carefully before), express yourself using the same language and try to find common points to highlight.
Take a winning attitude, that is to say positive and smiling (and not frightening and irritating). The smile predisposes to a more relaxed and pleasant conversation. Continue to smile and stay calm and optimistic even if your partner doesn't give a smile at all. In some cases this is also the case.
In this regard, attention should be paid to extravagances: These are practices that some recruiters like to adopt in order to test the candidate. Some will let you talk without ever raising your head from your diary or look away from your computer; others will let you talk without interrupting yourself, and when you've finished (because it's a good idea that you end up alone and not continue indefinitely) they will remain silent for 10 endless seconds. These are just examples but there are those who prefer this type of techniques to evaluate the stress resistance and self-control ability of the candidate.
Listen and stay focused: It seems the most trivial and obvious thing, but it is not. It happens more often than you imagine: you've just finished answering a question, the recruiter begins to introduce a new topic but your mind goes back to what you've just finished saying and think about what you could have added or what worse it was better to avoid. In the meantime you have lost valuable information and your absent look will not have escaped the attention of an experienced recruiter.
During a job interview, you not only communicate with words but also with your body and voice. As you speak, you control the tone and volume of your voice (if you're almost shouting or struggling with your voice because of the tension, try to correct it anyway). And be careful about posture and unintentional gestures: sit down with your back straight and resting on the backrest (do not protrude forward by leaning your elbows on your desk or side by jutting your legs). Do not gesticulate, do not touch your hair, earrings or tie, do not hold on your legs neither the bag nor the briefcase, do not cross your arms.
The image counts and is your business card. Also in clothing, general look and haircut it is essential to respect standard rules. Claiming for originality in the choice of clothes or claiming that purple meches or language piercing are part of one's personality are attitudes that absolutely must be avoided in the workplace. When you are hired, in fact, it is not yourself that you have to represent the image of the company itself. So pay attention to clothing that must be sober and tasteful and not necessarily elegant if, for example, you apply for a post of "creative".
Punctuality is the first gesture of care and respect that you can have not only towards your recruiter but also towards yourself. It is truly mortifying to arrive at the time of a sympathetic conversation that is pierced, tired, sweaty and in disorder and having to start apologizing before even healing. Prepare clothes and shoes the day before, in the morning wake up on time and don't miss breakfast for any reason (there is nothing more embarrassing in the world than to feel your stomach that grumbling hungry during the interview).
Finally, don't forget the good manners (not because you are not educated but because the emotion plays bad jokes). No mobile phones on, no chewing gum, no excessive make-up or liters of after-shave that can immediately trigger headaches. Tighten your hand securely (but not forcibly vigorous) at the time of your presentations, look in your eyes at your interlocutor, wait for you to be told to sit down before sitting down. At the time of the final greetings, don't be the first to leave, always thank you for the time it has given you and don't "lower your guard": the journey from the desk to the door can take up to two or three minutes and while you continue to talk to the recruiter you are still watching. Don't let go of last-minute confidence or confessions and stay professional: the interview doesn't end when you get out of the chair, but when you leave your staff office door behind.