How to Stand Out In a Job Interview

Usually getting a job in life has a lot to do with a person and what they feel. Sometimes our old jobs stress us out or we feel we’re not achieving our goals, thus we may leave them and look somewhere else where we may find something more suitable.

However, getting a new job is not an everyday thing. You end up getting those feelings you used to get when you applied for college or university. Becoming anxious about getting accepted to the school of your choice, it’s quite a reminiscent sentiment. The same thing seems to happen to fully graduated young adults and adults. Either finding a job for the first time or acquiring a new one.

Just like applying to a university, applying for a new job is just the same. You have to bear these silly burdens and fears of whether or not employers will like you. A job interview is never simple; but it’s not impossible either, it’s just a series of good impressions, good communication and confidence. There are pointers for people who may need some advice on how to challenge these interviews to the best of their benefit. 

Be on time

Ever heard the saying; “to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late and to be late is unacceptable.” To make a good impression, the first thing you want to do is show up early, so that you can already prove to the company you want to get a job in that you’re a punctual person. Not only does showing up early refresh you, but it gives you time to compose yourself before an interview. You can rehearse and review anything you may want to say in the interview before it begins. Showing up early will also give you a sense of calm and confidence, you’ve done your part of showing up early, that’s already a sign of good fortune. 

Have a good attitude

By being nice, kind or just plain respectful to everyone in your potential future firm, you already show people a positive character. You make them feel interested in having you and happy to have met you already. From the moment you walk into the office building, you have to smile at the receptionist, greet the people in the building and especially the ones going to interview you. You have to be more welcoming to them, than they are to you. 

Dress well

You want to not only be a nice person, but look like one, so dress accordingly. Be Formal, reasonable, well combed and sharp. You want to attract people to your person, matter fact, smell good too, let people like you as soon as you walk in, before you even say a word of hello to them. It’s a normal human to human being concept, people like attractive people, well dressed, those who “clean up nice”, it’s not that hard to understand. These are the simple things of life that get you noticed and help you. 

Do some digging beforehand

The day or two before your scheduled interview, you should do a little research. Do research about the people who you’re meant to meet for the job interview. Basically try to learn as much as you can from them, even re-reading their emails and seeing how they write and respond. Or even a phone call and listening to their tone of speech carefully can help you deduce what kind of tolerance and levels of formality they possess. This can help you prepare an estimated, reasonably appropriate attitude towards them. Check out their website and search for them on any employee pages, try to get to see if they have any information about them that may be of use to you. You want them to feel comfortable as well when they meet you for the first time, so as to make it almost seem mutual. “Try to get acquainted before you get acquainted.”

Get personal

During your interview, most commonly, the interviewers ask questions in the beginning that are personal; such that they get to know you as a person, before they ask work/CV related questions. So get personal, tell them the things about yourself you know they would want to hear. Tell them about your past experiences, your achievements, briefly tell them about things you like to do that may be interesting, tell them about your strengths, and tell them about your interests. What you hope to achieve, what you hope to improve. These things help interviewers to trust you and to get an idea of the kind of person you are, be honest always in your responses, for if you get the job in the long run; “you got to walk the talk.” You don’t want to tell them something about yourself that ends up being wrong.  

Common interests

Look for common connections with your interviewer that is to listen carefully to their conversations, and to try to relate. If by chance, you find something of mutual interest, jump on it and relate to them with your own similarity. This will help build a great first impression as you tend to sync with the interviewers own common interests. You have to look for shared interests constantly in the interview, without over talking, relate, appreciate and move on. Interviewers don’t like too much talking. 

Give examples in your response

More than just talk, there is also proper responsiveness. When the interviewer asks you a question, answer accordingly and straight to the point, keep your Responses clear and focused. If an answer to a question is yes or no; then answer yes or no. This helps interviewers see that you’re able to answer to the point. In terms of giving examples, you need to be more detailed than just saying yes or no, that means, you show them how you would solve a problem if they present you with one. Display ideas that have correct examples, such that you’re showing them your skills in understanding the job position. Examples are good ways to show interviewers you know what you’re talking about, but they need to be truthful and sensible.