Why That Job Is Yours: The Interview Decoded - Opinion - The ...

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For some, job interviews are the professional equivalent of a hangover, causing equal amounts of nausea, sweating, discomfort and regret. Just discussing them can make your heartbeat triple, your teeth clench and your stomach stir.?

I?ve come to realize that stripped down, job interviews are really just a socially acceptable 45-minute dialogue starring you. When you learn how to articulate your accomplishments and relax your nerves, interviews flow like conversation. Approach your next interview with eloquence and composure by following these simple tips. ?

Do Your Due Diligence

When you go to a concert, you know every lyric, you own every MP3 and you can recite the detailed band history in your sleep. If you approached an interview with equivalent zeal, you would blow your interviewer away.?

Company websites, annual reports and the Glassdoor website are valuable resources when researching a firm. Furthermore, take initiative and contact employees you may already know working at the firm of interest; hit up Aunt Leslie?s cousin?s nephew?s fianc? Dave who works at Apple because this is the time to do it. In business interviews, always know the firm, the products, competitors and industry trends.?

Never Lie

There are people on payroll who exist solely to verify every line on your resume. Your interviewer has watched many people fake their way before you, and will watch many after you. Interviewers ask difficult questions to evaluate your critical thought process, not to be mean. If you?re truly stumped on a question, be honest. An appropriate response is, ?I don?t know, but I?d appreciate if you explained it to me,? or ?I can research it and get back to you.??

Master Your Resume

Mentally prepare brief descriptions of any jobs you list, and develop didactic experiences for each one. Interviewers often inquire about your experiences working in a group, facing a challenge, embracing leadership or working with difficult people. By getting comfortable with your resume ahead of time, you are able to easily answer such questions and cover more ground on your resume by calling from diverse experiences.?

Proofread your resume 24 hours after your last edit, always take multiple copies to your interview and print it on nice resume paper. Google ?Padfolio,? then go buy one. ?

Dress Professionally

When in doubt, conservative attire is the way to go. Ladies, leave the Forever 21 sequined blazer at home and invest in dress shirts and business attire you reserve for professional occasions. If you naturally fidget with your hair, tie it back. Gentlemen, try to look less like a frat pledge and more like you own the 49ers; iron your suit, wear clean clothes and opt for power colors like blues and greys.?

Cover Your Bases

If you took a gap year before college, if you got a D in Feminist Methods or if you dropped three classes one quarter, be prepared to talk about it. You don?t necessarily have to be the one to bring it up, but don?t be caught off guard if it does surface.

A Note on Phone and Skype Interviews

These interviews can fuddle the line of professionalism and casual interaction since you?re not face to face with your interviewer. Select a quiet room, pick a reliable phone line, perch your resume in front of you and dress up. Think twice before taking the call in your boxers; dressing up compensates for the formality phone interviews should have but often lack, and puts you in a professional state of mind. ?

Bonus Tips

Take advantage of on-campus interviews, send thank you letters within 24-48 hours, write good questions to ask at the end of an interview, shake hands before and after and pause before answering questions.

On my first job interview at Yahoo, the interviewer recounted a memory from his studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. In a nervous attempt at small talk, I replied, ?Wow! You were a Trojan?? He looked at me, stood up and left. I wish I was kidding.?

I didn?t get that job, but it?s okay, because I got many more after. You learn more from a bad interview than you do from a good one. Take any interview you can get, prepare well for it and learn from your mistakes. ?

Source: http://www.thesantaclara.com/opinion/why-that-job-is-yours-the-interview-decoded-1.2990963

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