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“Congratulations. You are now invited to an interview on….” If you’ve received such an email or a phone call, you know how exciting it is. You just passed the first hurdle of shortlisting! There’s just one thing: you still face a bigger challenge of beating other applicants during the interview day.
So, how can you prepare and leave a remarkable impression on the panelist? And in the first place, is it essential to prepare for a job interview? You probably know about the company, job specifications, and even the salary range. So, you’re probably wondering, ‘what else is left to prepare?’
This post will arm you with the importance and reasons for job interview preparations. It will also help you to better prepare and step into the interview room with confidence.
Top 5 Reasons You Should Prepare for a Job Interview
Preparing for a job interview is more than knowing the company, yourself, or the job itself. It is all about your presentation, speaking skills, negotiation, and confidence. Even if you’re a shy and introverted individual, preparedness can help you overcome your weaknesses and top the list.
Here 5 reasons why you should start your preparations now
1. To Ensure you Give the Best Interview Performance Possible
Practice makes perfect, and when combined with preparation, it is integral in a job interview. It helps in skill perfection, improved performance, and increased chances of emerging the best.
Preparation also helps you gather courage, identify your weak points, address them, and impress the panelist with your performance. You’ll also be able to answer questions quickly, confidently, and comprehensively.
2. Minimize Stress and Nervousness
It is common to feel nervous before and during an interview. Nevertheless, preparation, planning, and rehearsing help minimize this state. This is because the nervousness is mainly due to being in unfamiliar territory, fear, random questions, and new faces.
Thinking through any possible questions and visiting the company beforehand can help you feel calm and bold. Additionally, a prior visit to the company or the route lets you plan your journey and be familiar with the environment.
All these will help to calm you and give you control of your feelings. With calmness and control, you will confidently express yourself and wow the panelists.
3. It Sets You Apart from other Candidates
Now that your CV and cover letter impressed the HR team, you need to impress them in person too.
According to LinkedIn, 30% of the global workforce actively seek employment. So, you’ll be up against other qualified people eyeing the same position. There’s also a high chance that some will have better qualities than you, and it’s up to you to set yourself apart.
How can you do it? By showing what unique value you bring to the company! And one way of being different is by preparing.
Some of the areas you should pay close attention to include:
- Matching the skills and personalizing. Even if you don’t have the skills but have been invited for the interview, you stand a chance. So, look at ways your personality and other skills match the job specifications
- Think through and bring out any experience relevant to the job
- Prepare to ask relevant questions as it shows you’re interested
- Maintain direct eye contact
- Adopt a humorous approach. This will strike the panelist differently, but don’t overdo it.
4. It Helps you be and Appear Confident
Confidence is one of the critical keys to successful interviews. It helps you approach the panel with ease and answer all questions convincingly. Even if the questions are about your weaknesses, you can tackle them head-on and show that the weaknesses are an asset rather than a liability.
But what happens when you are not confident? You will look nervous and unsure of your qualifications.
Can you avoid such a scenario? Yes. With preparations, you can craft answers for questions you think the interviewer might ask about your skills, accomplishments, and experience.
If you also have answers beforehand, you will be able to answer all questions boldly.
5. It Helps you Take Control
Admit it: job interviews can be intimidating. And if you’re scared, you are bound to flop as you’ll not compose.
Despite this stark reality, you can take charge of the interview if you are prepared. This is because as you prepare, you’ll be training your mind to anticipate any question. Ultimately, you’ll end up mastering your fear and be in control.
When you’re in control, you can turn an unfamiliar question to your advantage without sounding irrelevant or unknowledgeable.
How can you Prepare for an Interview?
Now that you know how interview preparation helps you, the next step is to understand the areas you should pay more attention to. Some of the factors you should consider include:
- Researching About the Company and Industry
This helps you answer questions correctly and portray you as an interested and knowledgeable individual. It also shows that you know about the company and current trends in the industry.
- Dress in your Best Outfit
Wearing an outfit that you are comfortable and confident in has a way of psychologically motivating you. Additionally, being neat and presentable will help you awe and captivate the panel. It may seem like a small detail, but it actually works.
- Pre-visit the Company
A pre-visit to a company is vital. It helps you master the route and calculate the time it will take you to arrive at the company. This will also prevent you from arriving late or sweaty.
The best part is that arriving early gives you ample time to familiarize yourself with the environment, settle, and organize your thoughts.
- Re-read the Job Specifications
Even though you’ve applied for the job and made it to the interview phase, you need to understand the duties and requirements thoroughly.
This will help you determine the kind of questions to anticipate. It will also enable you to formulate relevant questions to ask the panel and tailor-fit your experiences to the job description.
- Your Tone, Body Language, and Posture
Interviewers look for and listen to everything. If you do not want to sound rude and look uninterested, your body language needs to be positive.
When seated, maintain an upright posture, and ensure your voice is confident. If you are inaudible and shaky, the interviewer may conclude you are unfit, mainly if the job entails customer relations or sales.
You can practice at home with a friend or record your voice to gauge your tone, audibility, and steadiness.
Job Interview Preparation Sets You up for Success!
There’s no doubt that job interviews can be nerve-wracking. However, if you’re well prepared and confident, you can handle virtually anything that comes your way. The more prepared you are in your job interview, the greater your chances of performing well, impressing the hiring manager, and getting an offer.
So, no matter how confident you are, remember to prepare, and you’ll be ready to face and ace the interview.
All the best!
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