Are you looking for the right words to show your credentials and enthusiasm on a job interview?
A job interview is a screening tool. Employers want to know if you will fit in. They are assessing whether they like you and if you are a good match for the position.
They key to conveying that you are the ideal candidate is by doing your homework, going in, and then giving it your all. Leave your doubts at the door and focus on what the employer wants. That's when you will be able to successfully explain why you are perfect for the job.
So How Do You Find And Use The Right Words To Get The Job You Want? Follow These Five Steps Below:
1. Prepare Before You Go
Don't expect to wing it on an interview. Prospective employers expect you to be prepared. Exceed their expectations. Find out everything you can before your interview begins. Start with the company's website. Look for its history, its mission, annual reports, links to news stories and press releases. To research further, search engines provide a wealth of information. Newspapers and business journals will provide additional insight. Go to the library and ask for help - librarians usually know where the good resources are. You cannot over prepare. Prepare to the point where you are confident that you know about the company and what they offer to the world.
2. Showcase Your Abilities Quickly When You Are There
Stories are the best way to show how you have produced results for previous employers because they produce a visual description in the interviewer's mind. If they can see what you've done, then they are more apt to want you to do the same thing for them too. Before you begin your story, ask questions to uncover an employers needs such as, "What is the biggest problem you are facing now?" Acknowledge the problem and tell the interviewer how you have overcome something similar. Go into the problem you were facing, the action you took to solve the problem, and the results you produced. Be concise and brief. You don't want to loose the interest of your listener. Trust that if an interviewer needs more information, they will ask.
3. Keep The Conversation Flowing
Sometimes, prospective employers will not know what to say to you. Maybe they haven't had much experience with interviews. Maybe they are distracted. Yet, they have a big say in whether you are hired or not. If you are faced with this situation, go on the offensive, and take control of the interview. Turn the interview around and ask the interviewer about themselves. What do they like or dislike about their position? What skills do they need to make their life easier? Get the conversation flowing. Once you get the interviewer talking, the interview process will be easier and more productive.
4. Ask The Right Questions
Part of the interview is YOUR assessment of the company and the position. Just as the interviewer is assessing you, you are doing the same. Learn enough to determine if the job and company is a match for you. Questions are your pathway to information about the environment and the culture. Here are a few of those questions:
1. What are the specific duties I will be responsible for?
2. What challenges might I encounter if I take this job?
3. What would a typical day be like for the successful candidate?
4. How would you describe your management style?
5. What are the organization's plans for the next five years?
6. Describe your ideal candidate. How do I measure up against that picture?
Think about the answers you receive after the interview. Is this job right for you? This is important for you to determine. Don't stop listening to yourself or your gut just because you need the job or the money or want the company on your resume. If you make choices in your career that go against who you are as a person and what's important to you, these choices will come back and bite you later on.
5. Follow-Up
It's acceptable to ask a potential employer if you can follow-up with them and when would be an appropriate time for doing so. It shows that you care about the position and about working there. Create a follow-up plan. Write the date and time for your next contact with the employer. Be sure you follow through. Your attitude and actions, from the time you first learn about an opportunity, until you get it, sets the tone for the type of individual you are, and what others can expect from you.
So what do you say, you only have one life to live so it might as well be a life you love!