We are approaching the graduation season. This season includes graduates from high school as well as college. The one thing all graduates have in common is that they are approaching a new season in life that requires skills to achieve their goals. Rather the goal be to land their dream job or to continue with their education, you can almost guarantee that each goal has one thing in common: an interview. The interview can be for a job or for acceptance into a school, whichever interview your graduate is going to undergo, it is likely that they need guidance and assistance from an expert in the field of interviewing. That is where Interview Expert can assist you with offering a unique experience graduation gift that will stand out among other graduation gifts. Offering a recent grad the option to learn, develop, and practice interviewing skills is a gift that will last a lifetime. Lifetime skills that will help the grad at various points in life when they find themselves taking part in an interview. These skills are designed specifically for job interviewing; however, the skills can translate across the board to other situations.
Interview Practice
Practicing for an interview can be the difference between obtaining a job offer or receiving a rejection email. It may feel silly to practice for a job interview; however, it should be an essential part of interview preparation for all individuals. Practicing a job interview or taking part in a mock interview can help you to work out the kinks in the interview process and with your interview answers. Interview skills and techniques can be practiced and perfected with the help of feedback from a trusted source. A trusted source can be an interview coach, a mentor, a member of management, or another trusted individual. There are many ways you can practice for your next big interview and in this article, we will discuss some of the top methods and tips for a successful interview practice.
Prepare Your Space
Preparing a space for your interview practice might seem not as important as other aspects of the interview practice; however, Interview Expert contends that this is one of the most important aspects of interview practice. Interview Experts suggests that you create a space that will be as close to the actual interview space as possible. By creating a similar interview practice space, you will be able to be familiar with the space and practice your body language, eye contact, and other skills used for a specific space. You will want to find a space that is clean and quiet, possibly using a table and chair set up where your chair is on one side and the other chairs are on the opposite side. This will help you with practicing speaking to multiple individuals or a single interviewer.
Solo or Together
After preparing your space, you will want to make the decision as to practice solo or with a trusted individual. Interview Expert suggests that you work with a trusted person so that you can receive feedback and make adjustments. Feedback is crucial for improving your interviewing skills. You can practice solo; however, you will not know what needs to be adjusted if you do not have someone to bounce the ideas off of. If you are stuck when answering a question, you can have someone to discuss it with and help you to develop the answer deeper. If practicing with a trusted person is not an option, you can always practice solo and take time to evaluate your answers and write down questions that you may need to answer or receive feedback.
Practice Questions
It is difficult to know exactly what will be asked during an interview session; however, there are basic topics that will likely be discussed in most interviews. It does not hurt to search a group of interview questions for the industry or field in which you are interviewing. A quick internet search will provide you with many example questions. The problem is it can be an overwhelming number of questions which can make it difficult to decide to narrow down the specific questions to practice. At Interview Expert we provide a proven method (CRAM-14) that will help you to have an answer prepared for almost every type of categories for interview questions. Our method indicates that there are 14 main questions that can be asked during an interview and by practicing answers for those 14 questions, you will have much greater confidence going into future interviews. Check out our website for further information regarding CRAM-14.
Clothing
Dress for the interview practice. Interview Expert suggests that you wear the exact same clothing you plan to wear for the actual interview. This will help you know if the clothing is comfortable and not distracting you during the interview. It also will help to set your mind to the interview for the practice time. Wearing the same outfit will also help you to not stress as much on interview day, because you will have it ready and prepared and it will be one less thing to think about the day of the big interview.
Practice Interview Answers
It is necessary during a practice interview session to practice what you plan to say when asked specific questions. By practicing answers out loud, you will have the opportunity to work through what details to include and not include in your answer. If you are practicing with a trusted individual, it will give you the opportunity to reflect on answers with a third party and practice implementing the feedback. You should take this time to practice answering common interview questions and behavior-based questions. Even if the exact question you are practicing is not asked during an interview, it will be highly likely that something similar will be asked. If a similar question is asked, you will have an idea of how to answer based on your interview practice.
Solicit Feedback
While receiving negative feedback can be difficult to handle, it can also help you to grow and develop in areas that you may be weak. Feedback does not always have to be negative, if you gave a good answer and example, then you be aware that the answer is an acceptable answer in an interview. Feedback can be beneficial to developing your interview skills in a positive direction. Interview Expert suggests engaging with a professional who specializes in interview feedback in order to receive the most beneficial information.
Interview Expert
No matter if it is your first interview or your fourteenth interview, it is always wise to properly prepare for the interview through participating in a mock interview. Mock interviews allow you to compose your thoughts and ideas and to practice different ways to articulate your answers to narrow down your best answers. Mock interviews are one of many tools that maybe used in order to prepare you for your up-and-coming job interview. Job interviews can be stressful even to the most seasoned interviewer; however, practicing prior to the interview can help you to be prepared for the common and not so common interview questions. Let us help you with our knowledge in the interviewing industry. If you want to stand out and be the candidate that the company wants to hire, you should consider participating in mock interviews with an expert interview coach from Interview Expert. We have 1,000’s of hours of expertise with the interview process and we would love to share it with you and help you to obtain your dream job!
Interview Q & A
When attempting to narrow down the most common interview questions, you must consider a few basic items:
- Narrow down which type of questions could be asked
- Understanding why the question is being asked
- Articulate an answer that best reflects you
Unfortunately, we find that many individuals neglect preparing for the more common interview questions. This is unfortunate because they are the questions that are most likely asked in almost every interview. With that said, they should be the questions that have the strongest answers because they are most often used. There are only a limited number of questions that can be asked in the interview time given; therefore, it is important to have an understanding of why certain questions are asked so that you can better provide the answers.
There are times when you may be asked a random or strange questions such as “If you were a color, what color would you be and why?”, those questions are far and few between. Most questions are targeted toward the job or you and your experience. There is no way to prepare for those random questions; however, you can prepare for the more common interview questions, which will make you feel more confident and prepared before, during, and after the interview.
Let’s discuss some of the more common interview questions:
Tell me about yourself.
This question is often asked to get an overall overview of you as an employee/individual. This is your time to be prepared to shine the light in a positive upbeat manner that makes you the person they want to know more about. Remember, you always want to present yourself as the best possible person to hire for this position and your answer should demonstrate that.
Why do you want to work for XYZ company?
This question is looking to uncover the true reason you are interested in the position as well as to determine if you have done research about the job/company prior to the interview. They also want to uncover a possible motivation for applying for the position. Use this opportunity to be specific on the reasons you are interested in working for the company. Ensure that you use information about the job posting or the company’s values. There is no right item to include in this answer; however, it is essential that you show that you know enough about the company to make it a place that you desire to work.
Why should we hire you?
This question wants to know what sets you apart from the other candidates. They want to know something that has not been discussed yet in the interview. They want to know what makes you unique and what makes you stand out among other candidates. Your answer should include your skills and abilities that align with the position and the company. You want to include your qualifications and how they are best suited for this position.
What is your greatest weakness/strength?
This question is attempting to uncover what you are not the best at or what you are the best at. Do not be afraid to give a true answer for either. If you are asked a negative question such as your weaknesses, then they are expecting a negative answer; however, there is always a way to turn it into a positive. If they are asking about your strengths, then they want to know what strength you have that aligns with the position that you are applying for. When answering this question, stick to one weakness and no more than three strengths.
Why do you want to leave your current job?
This question wants to determine why you are interested in another job. Are you not happy there and why? We urge caution when choosing your answer for this question. Interview Expert suggests to not start talking badly about your current employer. This can leave the interviewer feeling that if they hired you, you may talk badly about them some day. You want to provide an answer that is truthful, yet not super detailed. If you want to leave for more opportunity to grow then state that, but if it is because you are unhappy make sure that you do not talk for long periods of time at why you are not happy. Simply answer the question honestly and without a ton of detail.
Common Interview Questions Conclusion
Understanding common interview questions that may be asked during an interview will allow you to be more prepared for an appropriate answer as you have thought through the questions prior to the interview. You may even go deeper and search for common questions asked for the specific industry that you are interviewing within. Using some of these questions to practice during the mock interview, will help to prepare your mind for the types of questions that you will likely be asked in your big interview. Mock interviewing with these common questions also assists you with thinking through your past experiences and how they may be useful or not useful to discuss during the interview. If you have an extensive work history it can be challenging at times to narrow down the examples you want to use. On the other hand, if you are new to the work force, then you may have to be creative with your examples in order to properly answer the interview questions. Mock interviewing can assist in all of these areas no matter where you are in your career.
Interview Expert can assist with the mock interview process and help you to be better prepared for any up-and-coming job interviews. Check us out at www.interview-expert.com. There are many options from coaching to crafting an interview answer to one or more questions to mock interviewing practice, or one on one in-depth interview coaching and preparation. There is an option that will work for all needs in the interviewing process. Interview expert has experienced interview coaches on staff to help prepare you for your next big interview. Our coaches are excited to share their collective knowledge to help you to land your dream job!
