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Overcome Interview Nerves: Be Better Prepared than Your Interviewer
Although interview preparation is everything it's sad to say that perhaps as many as half of all interviewers you're going to meet will be unprepared or incompetent. It's not all their fault, it's just lack of interview preparation time or responsibility; some of them will be co-opted at the last minute to meet you and won't have had time to prepare. However there are those who just think they're great interviewers and fly by the seat of their pants!! It's not all bad news though; you can turn this to your advantage. You can be better prepared than they are by following a few simple rules. It may sound too simple but what they really want to know only falls into 4 key areas: * Why are you here? * What can you do for us? * What sort of person are you? * Can we afford you? So you must prepare for this. Let's examine each one. Why are you here? Because you are interested in the job, the company, the challenge, the chance to learn and develop new skills, and you are ready to move for such a great opportunity. What can you do for us? You bring all of your experience, your skills and achievements, as well as your desire to develop and contribute to a new team or department. (This is easy if you've already done your homework on your achievements and skills). You should have a number of skill stories to illustrate these specific points ready prepared. What sort of person are you? Someone who has initiative and gets on well with others and is flexible in attitude to different ways of working; maybe you are a great team player, or a strong leader or you describe yourself as loyal and conscientious. Try to avoid the "open-door" or "hands-on" type of response. Remember that 'compatability' is much more important than 'competence'. Put that to the test if you like - who would you rather work with? Someone who can do everything, or someone you can get on with? Can we afford you? Salary negotiation is another issue altogether, but the point is you should have a feeling for what the remuneration is likely to be and show them that you bring value-for-money. If the salary is a lot more or a lot less than your recent earnings then you must be able to show convincing reasons why you are pursuing this job. That's all fine as a general background but if you're going to overcome your interview nerves and be better prepared than your interviewer, you must be more specific. Put yourself on the other side of the desk - if you were doing the interviewing, what would you really want to know that would convince you to make a job offer? You'd want to know more about the 4 key areas above wouldn't you? So all you have to do now is work out your questions to explore those 4 areas. Make it at least 25 questions long and don't avoid that question you don't want to be asked (you know the one don't you?) and then carefully work out your own answers. Don't forget to include at least half a dozen personal attributes of the ideal candidate; why these are also your attributes and be prepared to explain why they should hire you as opposed to any of the other candidates. One final thing on interview preparation and being better prepared than the interviewer. The "Tell me about Yourself" type of question is used by many interviewers to allow you to settle in and feel comfortable. An interviewer who hasn't prepared beforehand will tend to ask this question to buy time while she thinks of the next question. It's then only human nature to ask questions relating to what has already been said (by you). Your answer to the "Tell me about Yourself" question can therefore set the whole agenda for the interview. Prepare this well and you're streets ahead. It should include a brief walk through your career history from the first job or when you left university; touch on each move you made with positive reasons for the move [I wanted to get some activity based costing experience...] and key in only relevant facts that show how you meet their needs. Allow only 3 minutes for this with most time spent on your most recent experience. Now even if you do get the well-prepared, competent interviewer you will have done your interview preparation and you will be the well-prepared competent interviewee!! However, don't get too complacent some organisations use structured interviews which are actually a boon to incompetent interviewers as they ask the same pre-determined questions to each candidate. No worries! the best preparation for structured interviews is to work on your skill stories. They usually tell you in advance what skills or competences they are interested in. What else should you do? Well there all sorts of interviews so you can never do too much interview preparation it's the most certain way of feeling confident when you meet the interviewer, whether she's competent or not. I'll give you a start if you're struggling, click on my link below for some of the most common questions you can start to work on. But don't just leave it there, build up a good list then get to work on your interview preparation. With over 25 years running businesses, and as a Career Coach and Consultant in many sectors, Peter Fisher is well placed to guide job seekers through the steps needed in order to achieve that all important new position. He has personally coached thousands of individuals to career success. He writes a distillation of these years of experience with all the essential facts and actions you must complete in order to achieve your own success. He is very clear that you shouldn't be misled by others into thinking of "acing interviews" or "finessing" your way into a business; the most sustainable and fulfilling roles are gained through understanding your own specific needs and creating your strategy accordingly. For specific guidance on how you might produce your own questions and answers to help overcome your interview nerves go to http://www.your-career-change.com/best-interview-answers.html To learn more about his dynamic and comprehensive approach to career change, with every page dedicated to helping serious career changers go to http://www.your-career-change.com/index.html
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at Givaudan Givaudan Careers Oaktree Capital Meet Native American Veterans where they live with a VA career VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers | Career Opportunities West Virginia University I moved to Alaska after college for a job. I lost all my friends because I put my career first. Business Insider Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University 15 Companies Offering Health Insurance to Part-Time Workers U.S News & World Report Money Careers at FEMA FEMA Careers at Willamette my.willamette.edu Physicians are the nation’s top earners – a slideshow Medical Economics Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News City of Tampa Careers City of Tampa Careers at VA VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Careers BASF Careers at University of Missouri Health Care | University of Missouri Health Care jobs University of Missouri Health Care MPP Employment Data USC Sol Price School of Public Policy Nursing jobs VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Career Opportunities UMHB Jobs at BCA Minnesota Department of Public Safety Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on October jobs report US Department of Labor Careers at Union | Human Resources Union College Careers West Virginia Department of Education Careers Washington State University Employment Services American Mathematical Society Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs Financial Times Working for ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom US employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply reduce payrolls The Associated Press Work at DHS: Career Opportunities Wisconsin Department of Health Services Employment Statistics Columbia SIPA October 2024 jobs report: How two major hurricanes, labor strike might affect the numbers - NBC News UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Employment benefits VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University Job Search Results UnitedHealth Group UN COMMON CAREERS VCU Health Work With Us National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Employment | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf Careers S&P Global Careers Medline Reservists (On-Call) FEMA Job Opportunities Bellevue School District How to Apply FEMA Job Opportunities Southwest Minnesota State University DOE Report Shows Clean Energy Jobs Grew at More Than Twice the Rate of Overall U.S. Employment Energy.gov Careers Micron Careers at Discovery Education Discovery Education Jobs report on eve of election will be among the most muddled in years The Associated Press Join our team FHI 360 Careers KPMG Early Career GlobalFoundries Certified Direct Care Professional (CDCP) Wisconsin Department of Health Services Careers The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation Internship Opportunities | Careers Boston Consulting Group What Trump's election victory means for job seekers Business Insider Jobs and internships at ABC7 Los Angeles ABC7 Los Angeles Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Careers in A&O Shearman Careers UNICEF USA Work At Chess.com Chess.com Students and graduates JPMorgan Chase Career Paths FEMA Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota The 16 Best Jobs for Creative & Restless ADHD Brains ADDitude magazine Mental health at work World Health Organization The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024 The Australian Financial Review How many jobs are available in technology in the US? Computerworld Reinventing Your Career — When It’s Not Just About You HBR.org Daily |
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