To stop nerves affecting your performance, prepare.
Got an interview but not sure how to behave? Follow these tips and you can prepare properly for a job interview as a candidate. But when you arrive at the company and sit down in front of the recruiter, the butterflies usually turn up. To stop that affecting your performance, prepare. Here are our tips for making it go well.
Prepare
Do plenty of research: recruiters like it when a candidate shows knowledge of the company and the industry it operates in. It is also vital to think about the questions you want to ask the recruiter, so you do not risk forgetting something and regretting it.
Punctuality
Being punctual and being responsible are directly linked. When you have an interview booked, try to arrive early, and if that is not possible, tell the interviewer about the delay as quickly as you can. If the interview is online, get ready a few minutes beforehand and be ready to join the app, link or platform minutes before the scheduled time so that nothing goes wrong.
Mind your appearance
Interviewers are not there only to ask questions: your behaviour and your appearance are being assessed too. Remember to keep up good hygiene wherever you are: shower, brush your teeth and wear clean clothes. Avoid strong fragrances, which can cause nausea or trigger allergies in interviewers. The golden rule: dress for the occasion.
And if the interview is online, remember to tidy the area the camera picks up so you leave the recruiter with a good impression.
Show confidence
Showing confidence makes clear to the interviewer that you are sure about the skills you have, and it comes across as more sincere. People also naturally tend to warm to those who are confident. Always be clear and concise when you speak.
To show you are confident, look the recruiter in the eye, speak clearly and answer questions directly. Get to the point. If an answer drags, the recruiter will think you are stalling.
Your CV
Take your CV to the interview so the recruiter can read it and you can talk through the specific points that catch their interest. If the interview is online, have your CV to hand in case you need to refer to something specific or send it to the recruiter again.
Your experience
When the interviewer invites you to talk about your experience, always make clear the positive impact it had on you professionally. Interviewers know when you are lying, so avoid embellishing. Be direct. As in any social relationship, lying can destroy your reputation and guarantee you are turned down.
A lie can also cast doubt on every true thing you said beforehand. So avoid the needless discomfort of getting tangled in your own stories and focus on the good things you can say about each role.
These tips can save you during a job interview. But not every selection process involves you shut in a room at the company facing a recruiter. Some companies do things differently, putting candidates through group exercises, for instance. So it is important to prepare for those possibilities too. It can make the difference to your career. Anything can happen, particularly when interviews are online, but if you prepare, it will go well.
Good luck!