Have you heard that an interview lasts from 30 minutes to an hour on average? Well, studies suggest that.
Additionally, if an interview lasts 15 minutes or less, then it is most probably a bad interview. Even a 30 minutes long interview may or may not lead to productive results, and also it is not long enough.
As per the Resumegate blog, 45-minute to 1 hour is the best number. The more time you spend with the interviewer the more chances you have to get selected.
But how to improve the interview skills and techniques needed to hold your interview for 45 minutes or 1 hour? In this post, we have put together 12 tips on how to succeed in an interview.
Tips on how to do well in an interview
You do not get a second chance to make a great first impression in an interview. In fact, even the brightest and most qualified candidates should prepare for the job interviews because interviewing skills are not acquired they must be learned.
For improving your interview skills, here are the 12 tips on how to succeed in a job interview.
1) Practice Non-Verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication is all about your body language that relays what you are communicating without speaking.
Do you want to impress the interviewer in the first five minutes? Then, practicing proper body language is a great start.
Since non-verbal cues are critical in every interview, you should maintain respectable body language from the beginning of the interview to its end.
2) Dress Professionally
The first impression has a significant impact on how the interviewer perceives you. To make a positive impression, you should dress properly because the first thing an interviewer sees is how you look.
Here are five tips to dress professionally:
Choose your clothes depending on the company profile and the type of culture they promote.
3) Research the Company
You must research the company to understand what they do and how they operate. Also, it is the best way to know what they look for in a candidate.
The interviewer may ask you about the company’s position in the industry, the competitors of the business, the firm’s competitive advantages, and so on. It is best to learn the following details of a company.
- Company’s culture, mission, and values,
- The products and services they offer,
- Their clients,
- Key players of the organisation.
You can learn about the skills and experience valued by the firm. Keep up to date on the recent events about your employer or company by watching the news, blogs, and Twitter.
4) Use Google Alerts
Keeping up with the recent news updates about multiple companies you applied for is hard. But you can make it easy by using the “Google Alerts” tool.
You just need to add keywords and the google alerts will email anytime a new story appears. You can learn about current events without even searching for them.
5) Prepare Answers to Common Questions
Preparing for the most commonly asked questions in a job interview is also crucial to having a good job interview.
Have a look at some commonly asked interview questions you should prepare for:
If you look up on the internet you can see a lot of usual questions asked in an interview. Keep in mind your age, qualification, the position you are applying for, and the type of job (internship, full-time job, or part-time job). Select the questions and prepare your answers so you don’t hesitate while answering the questions.
6) Prepare Questions to Ask Them
At the end of an interview, they ask if you have any questions. For this, you should have at least 2 or 3 questions ready. With the right questions, you can relay your seriousness about the job and also demonstrate your knowledge of the company.
Asking the right questions is one of the important interview skills and techniques. An interview is not all about getting to know you. You have to speak up, ask them your questions, and show your confidence. So, spare some time to prepare the questions.
7) Clean Your Social Media Profiles
Social media is mainstream now for hiring new candidates.
The Society For Human Resource Management (SHRM) has done some studies regarding the role of social media in hiring candidates. Here are its statistics.
- In a 2013 study, 77% of companies used social networking platforms for recruiting candidates which was 56% in 2011 and 34% in 2008.
- Survey results released in 2015 showed that 65% of companies hire workers from social media and 57% of them use LinkedIn sourcing at least one hire from this site.
- In 2016, SHRM found that 84% of organizations are using social media for recruitment. Overall, 43% screen candidates via social networks or online search engines.
Usually, employers use social media in two ways – One is to publicize job openings and another is to do background checks on the candidates.
So, clean your social media profiles by removing any posts that might give a wrong impression like posts related to religion, political rants, religion, etc.
8) Clear Your Credit Scores
While doing background inquiries, the companies also do credit checks.
- As per EEOC, in the study done by SHRM in 2009, 60% of employers used credit checks as a recruiting tool.
- The study results released in 2012 revealed that 47% of employers use credit checks. To elaborate, 13% used credit checks on all candidates while 34% used them only on selected candidates.
- Among this 34% of organizations, 87% conduct credit checks on candidates applying for positions with financial responsibilities, 42% on candidates applying for senior executive positions, and 34% on applicants for positions with access to highly confidential employer information.
Thus, you should keep your credit scores clear to have a higher chance of getting a job.
9) Practice
Practicing what you learn is fundamental to getting better at interviews.
Preparing for an interview is important, but presenting what you learned smoothly and confidently is crucial. To enhance your presentation skills, practice the delivery of your speech to be articulate.
Tip: You can ask your family member or a friend to act as an interviewer and ask you questions. You can get their feedback or record it yourself and monitor it to improve your body language and the way you deliver your answers.
10) Be Authentic
Preparing and practicing may help you to have a successful interview, but it is always best to be yourself when you are in an interview. You need to be positive and assertive but also remain concise in what you say. Do not talk too much by adding unnecessary details.
When answering questions, focus on telling the truth. You can use real-world examples to promote your statement for questions like how you handle the pressure.
11) Be Professional
The attitude you show is vital in an interview process. So, be professional and don’t be cocky. There is a fine line between confidence and professionalism and modesty. Maintain that.
The interview is kind of like a business meeting. Remember that you are not there to make friends. Show your enthusiasm in answering and asking questions related to the job. But do not overstep your place as an applicant looking for a job.
Use professional language during the interview. Don’t get too familiar and talk nonsense. All the tips on how to do good in an interview won’t work if you come off as an unpleasant person to work with.
12) Be Ready for Behavioral Interview Questions
Behavior-based interviews are the ones where your interviewer asks about the way you handled problematic situations in your past or current workplace.
This interview technique gives the employer valuable insight into the way you approach challenges in a job.
You can prepare for behavioral interviews through the STAR method. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
- Situation – A project, an event, or an issue you faced in the workplace.
- Task – Your responsibilities in the situation.
- Action – The steps you took to rectify or relieve the situation.
- Result – outcome after the action is executed.
In this way, you can structure your answer with an example and relay to the interviewer how you successfully handled the situation.
Also read: 15 Best Career Advice and Tips to Advance Your Career
Finally!
Generally, we are always thinking about how to improve interview skills. But along with improving interview skills and techniques, as you can see having a good profile is also important.
Just follow these tips on how to get better at interviews and get the job.
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