TOP 10 WAYS TO ACE THE INTERVIEW
1. Breathe deeply, and try not to panic.
2. Try to set up your first meeting for one full week (five business days) from the time that you first receive the call to come in. Your tendency will be to go for an earlier meeting to “get it over with”. Do not yield to this instinct. You will need the time to prepare for the meeting. (Of course, if the interviewer insists on an earlier date, graciously accept it.)
3. Do your homework, get on the internet and pull every article u can find about the company. Dont just read the articles; study and dissect them. Start crafting a “master list” of questions of your own about the company based on the information that you unearth.
4. Go wider and deeper. Look up the company’s website. Obtain past Annual reports from the organization, and review them as your life depended on it. Buy trade publications from your field; and brush up on what the company’s competitors have been doing. Be certain to add some of this competitive information to the list of questions that you are preparing to ask in your interview.
5. Call any contacts that you have from the company, and start gently picking their brains about your upcoming interview. Ask your contacts about initiatives that are taking place in the organization right now; find out about the management structure.
6. If you don’t know anyone in the company, call any contacts you have in competing organizations to learn what they know about the company. Go out for drinks with them at night; trat them to dinner if necessary. DO NOT ignore this important step !
7. Write down your goal. Isn’t that simply to get the job, you ask? Yes, of course it is, but ohrase your goal in a way that is very specific to the company. “My goal is to land a job as Vice President of Customer Relations of at the XXX Corporation, and to make Rs XX,XX,XXX.” Study show that writing down goals helps people achieve them faster. Try it; what do you have to lose ?
8. Review your “master list” of questions, answers, company history, and competitive insights every single day until exactly fifteen hours before your interview. Lock yourself in a quiet room in your house or apartment if you have to, and ask yourself the questions (and state the answers ) aloud. This simple step, which so many candidates fail to do, can help you memorize your answers in advance. Won’t that sound fake, you wonder? No, it wont. When you really know your material, you will actually come off as sounding far more “spontaneous” in an interview.
9. Decide, well in advance of your meeting, which outfit you will wear. This is to avoid any tough decisions at the last minute. Be certain that your outfit is pulled together and appropriate for the job you really want. Also on the day of the interview, make sure that you have showered, brushed your teeth, and have clean, well-kempt nails and hair . Carry a roll of breath mints with you,just in case.
10. Then fifteen hours before your interview, force yourself to stop studying for it, and try to relax. Do Yoga if you enjoy it, or listen to a favourite tune. Lay off the caffeine so that you can get a good night’s sleep.
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