Job Interview Tips From a Corporate Interviewer

By Stephen Craine

Do you want job interview tips that tell you what an employer is looking for when they interview job candidates? Imagine the advantage you would have if you knew how the interviewer wanted you to present your attributes and experience. You could communicate with confidence because you would know how to prepare for the job interviews, what to say, and how to present what you can offer a potential employer.

I've been interviewing job candidates, and managing recruitment and assessment, days for over 20 years. I'm not going to waste your time with the obvious. You will know what to wear, and that appearance is important. These job interview tips are based on the things you probably don't know. The things that stand out to interviewers, like me, but candidates aren't aware of them. Here you are getting inside information from the other side of the interview desk.

1. Prepare for an interview that could change your life

What I don't want to see in an interview is a candidate struggling to answer basic questions that they should have expected and prepared for. You will not know the exact wording of the interview questions you will be asked. But you can predict 90 percent of the topics the questions will be about. Study the job description and other information you have about the vacancy. Prepare how you will present your evidence that shows you can meet the requirements of the role.

Match your skills and experience to those in the job description. Choose strong examples that prove your experience and capability for each of the key job requirements. Put yourself in the interviewers position. If you were asking the interview questions, what would they be? Note the questions and then select your best answers.

2. Take a breath before you answer

You're nervous, you want to appear eager to get the job, and you're focused on the interviewer and their questions. The interviewer asks you a question and you blurt out the first answer you think of almost before the interviewer has finished the question. I see this happen regularly in the interviews I hold. As soon as I have finished the question the candidate instantly replies.

Take a breath and allow at least tree seconds to pass before you answer. Use the time to consider if you're presenting the best possible answer to the interviewer. The interviewer will see you considering the question and putting thought into the answer. You will be perceived as confident and in control. This job interview tip will have a big positive impact on the image you project at interview.

RSS Feed

 Career
 Finding a Job
 Success at Work
 How To