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Interview Tactics - Stand Out From The Crowd
By: Simone Emmons
Going into an interview without a plan is like committing
employment suicide. There are several things that you can do to
prepare for an interview that will make a lasting impression in
the interviewer and make your skills stand out from the crowd.
Once you get a call to go in for an interview, your number one
priority becomes PREPARATION. You can never be "too ready" for
an interview. The more prepared you are, the harder it will be
to make mistakes. Here are several things that you can do to
prepare for an interview.
· Know Your Contact When you do get a call for an interview,
ask the name of the person or persons that you'll be talking to.
It's a nice edge to be able to greet your interviewer by name at
the beginning of the interview without waiting for them to
introduce themselves. It's the first indication that you're on
top of things, and have prepared beforehand.
· Do Your Research Before going to the interview, make sure you
do some research on the Internet. First try to do a search to
see if the company has an established website. Read about their
products or the services the company offers. Also do more
research on the search engines to see if there are any articles
that come up mentioning the company. You be amazed how many
information you can find out from search engines. While you do
your research and learn about the company you can prepare your
questions to take to the interview. It is ok to ask questions
and it will show that you have a genuine interest in the company.
· Practice Your Responses If you're the overly nervous type,
it's best to practice your responses to the questions that you
may be asked by the interviewer. You should practice your
wording and the tone of voice that you plan to use. You can also
role-play with a friend or family member. Try keeping your
responses as brief as possible and do not mention any of your
personal information. An interviewer is only interested in your
work experience not your personal life.
· Dress the Part "Dress for success" is a phrase that I'm sure
you have heard a thousand times or more. Never has there been a
truer statement. It really does matter what you wear and how
you're groomed. Again, we get back to first impressions. As soon
as the interviewer sees you, he/she is already forming an
opinion about you simply by the way you're dressed and groomed.
· Get Organized Make sure that all of the things that you'll
need for the interview are laid out the day before. Make a
checklist of the things that you'll need if you have to search
for them.
· Attitude & Body Language There are many things that you can do
to focus on the interview. Keeping your body language under
control is at the top of the list. It's not just the words that
come out of your mouth, but often the mannerisms that you use
that will give the wrong impression. Moving around in your
chair, playing with you hair, tapping, crossing your leg and
swinging it or any other thing that you do out of nervousness
will be distracting to the interviewer and he/she will notice.
· Show Your Confidence You'll need to put yourself in the right
frame of mind before entering the interview room. Attitude and
confidence count and you need to have the right amount of both.
You can't enter into an interview with a defeatist attitude or
lack confidence in your abilities. Again, you won't come off as
the professional that you claim to be.
Remember that during an interview, you're a sales person. You're
there to sell your skills and expertise to your prospective
employer. You want to market yourself in the most interesting
and appealing way possible. Solid preparation for the interview
gives you that advantage. A sales person that is knowledgeable,
friendly and positive always closes the sale, remember that!
About the author:
Simone Emmons is a human resources professional of 18 years and
founder of www.Hispanic-Jobs.com &
www.Asian-Jobs.com
At Hispanic-jobs.com
& Asian-jobs.com we
provide thousands of job opportunities for bilinguals
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