Job interviews are the best thing, you get half an hour or an hour where you can talk about yourself and tell you potential employers that how perfect you are âIdeal Candidateâ. Well is there any perfect candidate? Isnât there always room to develop further? Is hour or even two hours interview is enough to find out whether the candidate is ideal for the job or not?
When I came to U.K I got super excited, interviews were fascinating for me, just talking about how great I am âThe Best Thing Everâ and the fact I can earn my own money âSuperb.âBecause where I am from Job wasn't a necessity to be able to afford a luxury life style. Well I was like a kid in a sweet shop, I wanted to do everything, wanted to work for every company that was willing to hire me. So I decided to go and buy all the sweets like Sales, Marketing, Call Centres, Retail, Administration and customer service. Well these were the jobs that didnât require any degree so I went and did all of this for many different companies. Yes it was competitive, hard but I was prepared to do everything I could to see which industry is for me. There are few important things I have learnt about the interviews which I would like to share with you all..
Always prepare for the world know famous question of all âWhy do you want to work for our companyâ. My honest answers most of the time, actually sometimes I was really tempted to say it as well was because I want to earn money, save up for my future, and buy more shoes or in some cases I was tempted to say that âthis particular industry is new to mean I want to learn more about it as right now I just know nothingâ or sometimes I was really passionate about the particular role. Anyway whatever your answer is bring your passion into your answer, relate to different examples in your life or for recent graduates related to your degree. Whatever your answer is! It has to be good! Do some research about the company, what appeals to you about the company? For my interview with Disney World ages ago I forgot to prepare for this question and with my luck Well in a group interview I was the first one to answer the question which was âBecause I like Disney Charactersâ?Obviously I didnât get the Job.
âYou never get a second chance to make first impressionâ! Dress for the role. If you have got an interview for a famous fashion retail business dress up in all new trends! Top to Bottom. If it is office based role then it is really simple âSmartâ J
Prepare! You can never do enough preparation for an interview so prepare as much as you can. Competency based questions are really hard if you donât prepare but equally easy if you do. Look at standard questions in google and practice you answer.
Always take few seconds before you answer each question. Sort of try and structure your answer quickly in your head. Trust me it is hard to be perfect and interview is all about showing your employer that you are almost perfect candidate for the job.
Another question some employer also asks is about your weakness and strengths .Weakness is a tricky one, if your job interview is for sales executive role, donât say that you suck at sales. Pick your weaknesses that you can also say can be classified as your strength.
Always talk about how much you are interested in particular job. Donât mention other industries that you are looking to get in to! Well not a lot of people do that, but sometimes if you are super nervous and less prepared that it can happen.
For me these are the guidelines but it is hard to stick to all, sometimes I had interviews which were more like a having a discussion with a friend and sometimes it was like OMG when this torture is going to end. The important thing is to smile, be confident even if you made a slight blunder and remember it only gets better.
