8 Steps to Take in Preparing for a Job Interview

How do you prepare for a job interview? What are the steps you should take to have a successful job interview?

Spending time to prepare for a job interview is very key to having a successful job interview, so what are the steps to take when preparing for a job interview?

How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Examine the Job

Take out time to critically examine the job you are applying for, be sure of its requirements. Ensure your skills and knowledge are fit for the job you are applying for.

Once you have listed the qualifications for the job, list your own personal qualities, and match them to the requirements. Your list should include up to 10 of your personal skills, qualities, experiences, certifications, etc. that are a perfect match for the job.

Be ready to share examples of some of your past experiences that can prove beneficial to the job you’re applying for. Prepare yourself for behavioral interview questions that are related to the job.

Find Out About the Company

As much as you examine the job, critically examine the company too. You can do that by checking out their company website, following the company on their social media pages.

Knowing about the company is a critical part of your preparation of the job. Your knowledge of the company cultures and values is integral to you being able to position yourself rightly for the job being applied for.

You can do that visiting the company’s website and ingesting every information from there, you can also connect with your network within the company to orientate you about some of the company’s policies and give you titbits about what to expect during the interview.

Practice for the Interview

To calm your nerves, you should practice for the interview. Invite your friends, family and acquaintances for a mock interview, where you will practice your answers for the interviews.

Like lawyers carry out mock trials with their clients in a bid to review their answers to potential questions, you should practice the interview so you can develop a structure for how you’re going to answer the interview questions.

Forgetting the fact that you may have an informal relationship with the people you’ll carry out the mock interview with, you should adopt a formal setting for the interview.

Doing this helps you ease the pressure you may feel going into the interview.

Prepare your Clothes

Get your clothes ready. Clothes are an important factor in determining first impression. Make sure you have clothes neatly pressed and kept aside for the interview to prevent any form of mishaps that may occur as a result of selecting clothes last minute.

You can start preparing for the interview by preparing what clothes you will wear days before the interview. Give yourself ample time to come up with the best outfit that would be a good fit for the interview.

Your Hair and Makeup

Your hairstyle is an important piece in your appearance puzzle. You can make your hair appeal to your interviewers. Your hair, makeup and your clothes are an important piece of crafting an impression in the heart of your interviewers.

Research on the best hairstyles and makeup styles that would be best fits when you are interviewing for a job.

Prepare your Materials for the Interviews

It is important to keep a portfolio where you have kept all the important documents you are instructed to bring. Bring also extra copies of your resume, and all the required documents. Also bring a notepad you can write questions on and you can jot down important questions with.

Try not to bring your phone along, and every other material you do not need such as materials that can soil your papers.

Practice Interview Etiquette

Interview etiquette are important in making a good impression. However, interview jitters can make you forget some of the formalities that make up proper interview etiquette. To avoid this, it will be helpful to practice it for the interview.

Some of the interview etiquettes you need to observe include

Make eye contact during the interview.
Pay attention to the interview, don’t look distracted.
Comport yourself. Don’t assume a lazy sitting or standing posture during the interview.
Greet the people when you step in the room.

Even when the interview may be virtual or via phone calls, there are also etiquettes that need to be observed.

Be Sure of the Location

When you are preparing for a job interview at a particular establishment, you should ensure you are sure of the location of the establishment. And do this before the day of the interview. If you can, visit the company days before to familiarize with the location of the establishment. Understand the landscape of the whole environment so you can brace yourself if there’s frequent gridlock at the area, or there’s shortage of parking space.

”I couldn’t locate the establishment” is not a tenable excuse for being late to a job interview, avoid this by knowing the establishment’s location beforehand.