The job hunt can be a scary thing and if you haven’t gained much experience in the interview process, that can be intimidating for students and new graduates. Everyone has their own method of tackling a job interview but knowing a few key tips and tricks can certainly help you stand out to employers and make you a more favourable candidate choice.

RESEARCHING THE COMPANY

More than likely, when you send in your application you will do your own personal research on the company you are applying to. However, for interviews, you want to do more than just a once-over glance at their website. In some interviews, hiring managers may expect the interviewee to know aspects of the company that can be done by research and in other interviews you have the opportunity to really wow the person interviewing you with your knowledge about the company.

Tip: When applying for the job, light research might be OK, but before the interview, set aside some time to understand the company’s goals, offerings, services, products, and values.

Fanshawe Career Services Consultant, Christina Larke, explained that looking into the resources a company provides such as the website, social media, mission statement and values could be helpful for questions that the hiring manager may ask but also can leave the interviewer impressed.

PREPARE FOR THE BASIC INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

While you don’t want to only prepare for the standard interview questions that some companies include in their interview process, it certainly will help to have an idea of how you might answer these questions so that you aren’t stuck on them. With online resources you can even find standard interview questions tailored to the role you’re applying for which can also be very helpful. Students are encouraged to highlight past experiences such as volunteering, part-time work, and coops that have a positive or impressive result.

Tip: Some of the standard questions you can prepare for include:

1. Have you ever worked in a team before and expand on if you did?

2. What would you say are some of your greatest strengths and weaknesses

3. Tell us about a time where you had a challenging situation at work and how did you deal with it?

4. How do you work under stress?

“Try to think of four to six examples ahead of time because sometimes it’s hard to answer them on the spot,” said Larke.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO ASK

In an interview, it’s usually the person interviewing you asking the majority of the questions. However, when they have asked all their questions, they leave some time for you to take the floor. Meaning, it is now your turn to ask the questions. Preparing a few questions beforehand will avoid any long or awkward pauses for you to think of something.

Tip: Have at least three questions prepared for the interview and really take the time to think about what you want to ask. Having the person interviewing you impressed by the questions you ask can increase your chances of securing a position.

SELL YOURSELF

Knowing exactly what makes you the ideal candidate for the job can massively help with selling yourself in a job interview. How? Well, if you truly believe that you are the best person for the job and you explain why to the employer, chances are they will believe it too. The key ingredient to selling yourself in a job interview isn’t to be arrogant, but to be direct, easy to understand, and most importantly, persuasive.

Tip: You must become a salesperson for yourself in an interview. Pretending that you are a service that you are pitching to a client, is a similar way you should see interviews. For any job, you are providing a service to an employer, and they need to understand why they should hire you.

REMAIN CALM, COLLECTED, AND CONFIDENT

Interviews can be extremely intimidating and often make individuals nervous especially if it’s an in-person interview. Hiring managers can pick up on nervous body language such as slouching, shaking voice, stuttering, and more during an interview. Taking a moment to catch your breath, be confident in your worth and know why you would make the best candidate for this position, is honestly some of the best advice there is for a job interview.

Tip: Stay professional but try to remember that these could be people you are going to work with so be extra friendly, keep a smile on your face, and most importantly have the mindset that you’re simply having a conversation and not being tested.

THE FOLLOW-UPS

Knowing when to follow-up after an interview can be tricky. You don’t want to be too pushy, but you also don’t want them to forget you. Sometimes an employer will give you a timeline of when they will reach out to you. Usually, you want to give them a few days after the date they have given you. However, if they don’t give you any sense of a guideline, most people like to reach out a week after the interview by sending a concise and polite email touching base with the person you interviewed with.

The first time you do an interview it can be intimidating and sometimes hard to stick to all the tips listed above. With time, the interview process becomes easier and for some even starts to feel like just a professional conversation you’re having as opposed to the perspective of you’re being tested.