Many people feel that the interview is the single most stressful part of the job search process. Any number of things can go wrong, and a big part of being successful is avoiding simple mistakes. The things you should avoid doing are as below:
1. Trying to wing the interview: Practice! Get a list of general interview questions, a friend, a tape recorder, and a mirror and conduct an interview rehearsal. Practice until your delivery feels comfortable but not canned.
2. Not being yourself: Be yourself and be honest! Don’t pretend to understand a question or train of thought if you don’t. The interviewer will pick up on this. If you don’t know an answer, say so. Relax and be yourself. Remember you’re interviewing the company as well as vice versa.
3. Not listening: Focus on the question that is being asked and don’t try to anticipate the next one. It’s OK to pause and collect your thoughts before answering a question. Pay special attention to technical or work process related subjects that are unique to a given firm or organization. The interviewer may have provided information you will need to answer the question earlier in the conversation. Employers will be looking for your ability to assimilate new information, retain it, and, most importantly, recognize that information as useful to you later in the interview.
4. Not providing enough details: When answering case questions, technical questions or solving technical problems, take the time to “talk through” your thought process. Recruiters are much more interested in seeing how your mind works and how it attacks a given type of problem, than the answer itself. Articulate your problem solving process and verbalize your thinking.
5. Lack of enthusiasm: Maintain eye contact, greet the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake (not too weak, not too strong), and show common courtesy. Don’t be afraid to display your passion for the jobindustry and to show confidence.
Tags: Case Questions, Eye Contact, Handshake, Honest Don, Interview 4, Interview Mistakes, Interview Practice, Interview Questions, Interviewer, Job Interview, Job Search, Mirror, Recruiters, Rehearsal, Search Process, Smile, Tape Recorder, Technical Questions, Thought Process, Train Of Thought
Each specific industry has a variety of requirements that an employee has to meet. In searching for jobs as sales professionals, how do you prepare for a competitive environment?
Here are useful tips you could perform in searching the appropriate job and acing the interview.
1) Research: In order to be prepared on your interview, you should learn important facts about the company beforehand.
* The internet is one of the best ways to search for information and most companies provide their own websites. Study the content of the company’s website; know their background, goals, and information about the top executives.
* By using search engines on the Internet, you could also obtain news and additional information about the progress of the company, past projects and issues, and organizations where the company belongs.
* Review the stock market chart of the company. Since majority of shares are publicly traded, you could examine the recent stock price and learn the difficulties of its market over the past years. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the company will help you in the interview.
* Learn as many information as possible about its competitors. When you read articles about the market space, you will find out who leads the market and you can find out the company’s competitors. Having this knowledge could help you during the interview since you could be able to justify how the company is better than its present competitors are.
2) Attitude: Having the right attitude towards the interview and the job itself would ensure the position is yours.
* Majority of successful sales professionals have a unique energy that you can feel. They command a presence and hold the attention of everyone. Be energetic about the job and interview.
* Be enthusiastic. Since you have done your research about the company and its competitors, the interviewers will appreciate your enthusiasm and interest about the position.
3) Preparation: The position you desire could be yours as long as you show up prepared.
* Create a presentation by researching the products and services of the company. Be prepared to speak directly and intelligently about the company’s field.
* Provide statistics and industry related facts in your presentation. This goes to show that not only are you enthusiastic about the job, you are also aware of the condition of the industry.
* The fact about sales is its all about numbers. If you are asked about your numbers, simply provide them with production reports, past employment lists or a W-2 form of your yearly earnings.
By successfully performing these basic steps, your sales job could be yours in just a handshake away.
Tags: Attitude, Competitive Environment, Important Facts, Interview 1, Interviewers, Job Interview, Job Search, Job Tips, Market Space, Presence, Sales Professionals, Search Engines, Search Tips, Searching For Jobs, Searching Jobs, Stock Market Chart, Stock Price, Strengths And Weaknesses, Successful Sales, Top Executives
It is extremely important to follow up on all contacts. It is not good to just sit and wait for results to come pouring in when you think that you’ve already done your part because your contact information has been distributed.
Consider two men applying for a prime position at a company. After the interview, the first applicant just sits around waiting to hear from his prospective employer.
On the other hand, the second applicant distributes his contact information to some people that he met in the company. Furthermore, applicant number two does a follow-up on the results of the job interview a few days later. The first applicant has not been heard from, because he just relies on the basic “We’ll call you” routine. Who do you think will have a greater chance of getting the job?
Even though the first applicant is more qualified, since he did not follow up or even send a thank you note to the interviewer, in the end, he does not get the job.
If you are still waiting for that job offer and you do not follow up on your contacts, your chances of getting hired become slimmer. In business, following up on all of your contacts is a sure-fire way to spread the word about you, your business sense and expanding your horizons.
Tags: Applicant Number, Business Sense, Contact Information, Contacts, Expanding Your Horizons, Failure, Few Days, Interviewer, Job Interview, Job Offer, People, Prime Position, Prospective Employer, Sit, Sure Fire, Thank You Note, Two Men
There is a type of dress code when it comes to a job interview. There are dos and donts when it comes to what to wear.
Many times the first impression that you make with the clothing that you wear to an interview is the most important.
You will never get a second chance to make a first impression.
It is better to over dress for an interview. If you are truly unsure of what type of dress is expected at a job, it is better to dress your best for an interview.
This means a suit and button down top. This basic interview outfit will be overkill for many interviews.
The upside to choosing this tried and true look is that you will look pulled together and there is no way that the interviewer will think that you are under dressed.
There are many interview situations that do not require a suit. Many jobs are more casual then a suit and there for you can dress down a little bit.
For men, a button down shirt and tie with a nice pair of dress pants are ok for a more casual interview. Women can pair a nice blouse with dress slacks or a skirt.
The most important thing to remember when choosing an interview outfit is to make sure that you err on the conservative side. Tops should not be low cut and skirts should be no shorter then knee length for women.
For men, you will want to keep the color choices for your outfit on a muted scale.
All interview outfits should fit you well. An ill fitting interview outfit shows the interviewer that you do not take the time to make sure that your clothes fit. They will wonder if you will take the time to make sure that your work has no errors.
You also need to make sure that your interview clothes are pressed and wrinkle free. This will give you a clean crisp look.
You hair should be neat and tidy. Any makeup that you wear should be subtle and understated. Perfume and cologne should be skipped on the day of the interview.
You want to make sure that your accessories do not make an impression for you. You want to make sure that the interviewer is concentrating on what you have to say and not on what you are wearing.
It is a good idea to have 2 to 3 interview outfits that you can go to. Many jobs require more then one interview. You will need to have different outfits for each interview that you go on. Set these outfits aside in your closet so that you know they are what to wear to an interview.
What Not to Wear
Sweat pants
Jeans
Sneakers
Open toe sandals
Flip flops
Sleeveless tops
Low cut tops
Clothing with stains and holes
T-shirts
Baseball hat
Sunglasses
Workout clothing
Shorts
Skirts shorter then knee length
Lots of jewelry
Perfume and cologne
Bright makeup
Tags: Blouse, Button Down, Casual Interview, Cologne, Color Choices, Conservative Side, Dos And Donts, Dress Code, Dress Pants, Dress Slacks, Interview Outfit, Interview Situations, Interview Women, Interviewer, Job Interview, Knee Length, Perfume, Second Chance To Make A First Impression, Shirt And Tie, Skirts
Skill emphasis during the interview is important to show the employer what makes you different from all the other job candidates. In this competitive world, companies search for the most qualified employees by weighing skills of the candidates and determining how they would benefit the company.
Majority of the top companies search for employers who stands out based from their expertise, ability to give new developments, and pleasing personalities that would enhance the organization.
Skills are grouped into three kinds knowledge-based, transferable, and personal traits.
1) Knowledge-based skills are those learned from experiences. These may include educational attainment, additional training, seminars attended, and other practices that you have studied to enhance your expertise.
Knowledge-based skills include computer and communication skills, marketing or managerial knowledge, product development, and many more. These skills vary depending on the field of industry of each job candidate.
2) Transferable or portable skills are those you bring to a specific job. This is the reason why interviewers ask, What could you offer the company? Transferable skills are important because companies strive to look for quality employees that would improve the development of the workforce.
Portable skills include problem solving, team leader potential, organized, writing and communication skills, customer service oriented, time and project management, and good with numbers and budget. This kind of skills varies depending on the experience and versatility of each job candidate.
3) Personal traits determine who you are. In a job interview, one of the most common things an employer says is Tell me something about yourself. Your response is vital because it would set the tone for the rest of the interview.
Personal traits include good judgment, well organized, analytical, goal oriented, flexible, creative and many more. Try to sell yourself in as modest as possible within a limited time.
* Self-assessment. In order to provide an impressive presentation, examine your resume and list all the skills you have used for each past job experience. Make a comprehensive list of your skills and strengths including personal traits, knowledge-based and transferable skills. This would be the basis for your personal commercial.
* Once you have completed your script, you are now ready to face the interviewer. Remember that employers are interested in your accomplishments. Use words that are concise, direct and clear.
Although many companies require a unique set of skills, you should still highlight your technical skills in the interview. These skills, which top companies usually seek, include leadership, communication, confidence, flexibility, problem solving and energy.
Emphasizing all of your strengths and skills on job interviews would increase your chances of landing the desired job.
Tags: Additional Training, Communication Skills, Competitive World, Educational Attainment, Expertise Knowledge, Interview One, Interviewers, Job Candidate, Job Interview, Job Interviews, Knowledge Product, Managerial Knowledge, New Developments, Organization Skills, Personal Traits, Quality Employees, Skill Emphasis, Training Seminars, Transferable Skills, Versatility
