6 Super Easy Steps That’ll Prepare You For An Interview Like A Baws!

Job interviews can be intimidating to those who’ve struggled with communicating or for freshers who have no experience with interviews. An interview is more than your resume, and the moment you sit in front of your hiring manager, they start judging you with everything you say, every move that you make and do not make. And hence it can get very uncomfortable at times. However, daunting interviews may sound, with the right moves, you can sail through them by just following some simple and easy-to-do tricks.

Follow these steps to prepare better and stay calm even in stressful situations

1.  Do Your Bit Of Research

Whenever you get an interview call, try to do some homework before the recruiter starts throwing questions at you. You should always browse through the companies website, social media pages, or even glassdoor reviews to have a better understanding of the company profile and even their office culture. Researching about them will give you way more confidence than you think. Stepping into unknown territory is always scary but when you know where the other person is coming from, you’ve already won half the battle.

2.  Dress To Impress

“What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language.” —Miuccia Prada

You might think that we’re being absolutely vain right now talking about fashion while you’re sweating out the interview. Well, let us break it to you pal. What you wear and how you carry it makes a whole lot of difference in the eyes of the hiring manager. Dressing sharp speaks volumes about your personality.

A crisp shirt, with well-fitted trousers, hair set properly, and a watch that hangs perfectly on your wrist. How does that make you feel? Confident enough? If you nodded in a yes, then that is exactly what we meant to do. Putting effort into dressing up for an interview also reflects n your sincerity for the job!

3.  Be Active Even In The Waiting Room

If you’ve been through a few interviews already then you know that candidates spend more time in the waiting rooms than the recruiter’s office. That happens because there are other candidates in the line or simply because the hiring manager wants you to wait until he/she is ready for you. We totally understand that waiting for your interview can be a boring job, but you need to stay active. Talk to the receptionist, get yourself a coffee, read a magazine or the paper, chat with fellow candidates. Any activity that keeps you engaged and active is really helpful because you don’t want to enter the HR’s room all sleepy and lazy. Plus, remember that the office staff is noticing you even in the waiting room, and nobody wants a colleague who is lazy and ready to sleep before the interview. So, sit straight and wait in style!

4.  Reach For The Interview On Time

Just because the recruiter might make you wait, do not reach late for the interview. Try to reach a little earlier and make yourself comfortable. Never keep an interviewer waiting. Check the location on maps and understand the route beforehand. If need be, drive to the location a day before to make sure you’ve got the right office. If needed, call the office to enquire about the directions. If you reach the location way too early, then maybe stay out of the office and take a walk, but don’t be late. Your punctuality is also a quality that the recruiter will take into consideration.

“Punctuality is not just limited to arriving at a place at right time, it is also about taking actions at right time.”

― Amit Kalantri

5.  Practice for your interview

If you’re new to the whole concept of interviews, then we recommend that you have a mock session with a friend or someone in the family who is an experienced professional. They can guide you about the mannerism you should follow and the kind of questions you should expect. This will also help you figure out the answers to a few of the tricky questions. Here are some basic questions that you should be well prepared for:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why do you want this job?
• Why are looking for a job change?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• Why do you think that you are a good fit for our company?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Will you be able to fit in with our office culture? 

6.  Update your social media

With social media playing a vital role in the hiring process these days, it is almost important to keep your accounts, especially Linkedin active and updated. Hiring managers do check your Linkedin profile to understand your professional cycle. Build a good network, ask for a few professional acquaintances to endorse your skills, take up a few relevant certificate courses, and update your work experiences when you start applying for jobs. A clean and well-described Linkedin profile is a good way to verify your mentions in the resume. You can also clean your Twitter if need be. Facebook and Instagram are mostly for social purposes, so you can probably keep them as is and make them private.

To Sum Up

Apart from the above-mentioned steps, you can also :

• Switch off your mobile phone or put it on silent while you wait for your turn.
• Don’t loiter around in the office while waiting
• Avoid asking personal questions to the interviewer
• Try to keep your answers short and focused.
• Always maintain a positive attitude while answering
• Be honest if you don’t know the answer to the questions asked

There are a plethora of things you can keep in check when going for an interview, but we say you start with these. Always carry multiple copies of your document and resumes because the receptionist may ask for a few before and after the interview. Hold your calm, keep a smile on your face and we can assure you that you’ll get the job!