You got the interview. You found a job you wanted, and you could excel at, you wrote the cover letter, polished your resume, and put yourself out there. Take a minute to congratulate yourself on making it this far! While you may be thinking, “I didn’t get the job yet,” what you did do was successfully get their attention and make them want to meet you.
Okay, now you need to prepare for the interview. You will have a relatively short time to convince strangers that you are the perfect candidate for the position and someone they will want to work with every day for the foreseeable future. Preparing for an interview can be stressful and make you doubt your capabilities. Here are three vital tips to help you ace your interview and land the job.
Know the position and the company
Before walking into an interview, learn everything you can about the company, the key players in the company, and the position you are being interviewed to fill. You can learn a lot about a company from their website, social media, and other online information and reviews. If position, learn how the leaders are within the company and how the company started. The more you know walking in, the more prepared you will feel.
Additionally, when you are asked what you know about the company, which is often an interview question, you will have something to discuss. While researching the company, contemplate what differentiates them from their competition and why you want to work there. Being able to speak with authority about the company will demonstrate your interest and willingness. It will also impress your interviewers that you took the time to learn about the company prior to applying.
Dress for success
First impressions are vital when going to an interview. Ignore the adage, “don’t read a book by its cover.” You need to carefully select every aspect of your interview outfit and consider what it says about you as a potential employee. While many people may assume an interview outfit automatically means a suit, you want to dress professionally but appropriately for the position. For example, Chico’s sells a beautiful selection of women outfits, including a skirt dress, pencil skirt, dress slacks, and blouses.
You can choose a well-tailored, classic outfit that displays your confidence and self-understanding. The critical component of your outfit is your confidence. You need to wear, sit, and move in your interview outfit like you know you are the best candidate for the position. In addition to being dressed well, men should be well-groomed, have clean hands and nails, and scuff-free shoes. Women should have their hair styled with modest make-up and jewelry. Flashy make-up or jewelry can be distracting and take away from what you are saying during the interview.
Prepare yourself mentally
Even if you are the best candidate for a position, being overly-anxious can lead to an underwhelming interview and result in you not being selected. The Therapy Group of DC provides a wide range of mental health counseling, and their services are offered through telehealth, so you do not need to be strictly in the DC area to benefit. That said, you should consider career counseling in DC. You can meet with an educated and experienced professional who can help you prepare mentally for the interview.
A great therapist can provide you with feedback on your preparation, as well as coping skills for the stress and anxiety you may feel before or during the interview. Preparing for an interview with a career counseling professional can further boost your confidence, which will enable you to stay calm and concise while talking to the interviewers.
