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How To Survive Your First Job Interview

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Whether you have never had a job interview before, or you have attended quite a few in your time, they can be very nerve-wracking. The problem is that you can’t let nerves get the better of you too much. If they do your chances of being given a job are slim. Most interviewers will allow for a little bit of nerves but too much, and you could ruin your chances. You need to show them that you are confident under pressure and that you are at ease talking to new people. These are both skills that transfer well to a job, so they’ll be keen to see these in you.

Although this covers tips for your first job interview, they can really be used in job interviews throughout your career.  So if you have a job interview pending make sure you read through these and brush up on your interview skills. .

Make Sure You Are prepared

One of the biggest reasons people feel nervous is because they feel unprepared. The best thing you can do is try to combat this by being as prepared as possible. For starters, make sure you have read up on the company you are interviewing for. There is little point taking the decision to apply at Kmart, for example, if you’re going to turn up to your interview knowing nothing about them. The internet makes it easy for you to read up on companies, so there is no need for you to go into an interview unprepared. Instead read up on a company, its history, its services and its plans for the future. That way you’re in a position to answer any questions they have for you.

You should also make sure that you have read the job advert they have put out thoroughly. You should have a firm idea of their needs from an employee and what skills you bring to the table. By knowing what they are looking for you, can make sure that when you answer your questions you can do it in a way that shows you have exactly what they are looking for. By matching their skills, you can also feel more confident in your ability to do the job. This can help with feeling better about your interview.

Set Yourself Some Interview Goals

As the interview approached try to think about your interview goals and what you are hoping to achieve. For example, you could set yourself a goal of walking into an interview and bolding introducing yourself or simply making sure you ask one question at the end of the interview. Whatever it is, you will feel immediately better once you have achieved this and completed your goal. It also helps to give you something else to think about during your interview. Read up on interview hints and tips online and read up on the goals you should be setting yourself.

Practice Your Interview Skills

Without a doubt, practice makes perfect and interview techniques are no exception. Try to rope in some friends and family to act out some interview scenarios. You could try role-playing 1 on 1 scenarios as well as group interviews. That way you are prepared for whatever happens when you walk into the interview room. Although it doesn’t really have the same feeling as a real, genuine interview it definitely will help you to feel more settled when your interview comes around.

Relaxation Techniques

You need to make sure that you are as calm as possible on the approach to your interview. It is well worth looking up some techniques to stay calm and relaxed. You’ll find that there are some fantastic techniques for helping you to feel much calmer. This could be something as simple as a calming breathing technique. Anything that helps keep your mind focused and helps you relax is going to help benefit you when it comes to your job interview.

Ask Questions

At  the end of your interview the chances are that you will be invited to ask them any questions you may have. It is tempting to say no and make your way out of there however this is not a step you want to take. You should make sure that you have a question or two to ask at the end of the interview. You can prepare these in advance however you should make sure that you have a few prepared. If you just have one question prepared then, this could be something that they already cover in the interview. This means that when it comes to question time, you’ll have nothing relevant to ask.

Follow Up The Interview

At the end of the interview, you might want to forget all about it and just hope for the best. Instead, you need to make sure that you follow this up and show them that you are keen.  It is a great tip to make sure that you send a thank you letter after your interview.  You can use this as a time to reiterate on your skills and how keen you are to work for them.

In this letter, you should also invite them to send you any interview feedback that they may have. Being turned down for a job is never a nice time, but you can at least try to turn it into something positive. Receiving feedback from your interview is vital because it allows you to see where you went wrong and what you can improve in the future.

Whatever type of interview you are attending you want to make sure that you are as prepared as possible.  This will help to keep the nerves which in turn will make sure that you have a better interview experience. It can seem like it is hard to prepare for an interview, because you don’t know what they are going to ask. Just make sure that you know as much about the company as possible as this will help to make sure you feel prepared for anything that they ask you. On top of that it helps you to come up with questions to ask at the end of the interview, which is a pretty vital part too.

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