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You are here: Home / Archives for interview tips

interview tips

June 25, 2018 By LC-Admin Leave a Comment

Acing an Interview

Many job seekers fail to secure positions due to many factors, a common one being poor performances at job interviews.  Invitations to attend interviews in the first place are rare, so job seekers especially entry position candidates cannot afford to waste opportunities. An athlete is as good as his preparation and strategies, same goes for interviewees.  Below are some ways to ensure that interviewees ace their interviews.

 

Preparations

While your resume will get you in the door, your performance at the interview will keep you in the building. Preparation for interviews can be both mental and physical. Job seekers get worked up to the point that they feel they’re prepping for major surgery or headed to court to face a judge. Instead of seeing an interview as a daunting task, interviewees should consider interviews as a simple conversation between two people. Then there’s the physical aspect to preparation, knowledge as they say is power and a key to success and gathering knowledge will require research. Researching the company and what they actually do should be a given but learning a bit more about potential interviewers will go a long way to making the interview a lot easier. It is imperative that you appear confident and knowledgeable, dressing professionally and paying attention to personal hygiene will go a long way to portray confidence.

 

Appear Confident

A negative mindset will kill faster than a germ – Dr. Tony Jiminez. A negative mindset will pilfer into a demeanor and a good interviewer will be able to sense that.  Going into an interview with a positive mindset will costs nothing, a negative mindset however can cost the entire interview.  Appear confident, even if you aren’t, it is perfectly normal to be nervous before an interview, it is important to make sure your nerves aren’t visible.  Suppress your fears and don’t appear timid to your future employer, give a firm handshake, make eye contact and convey good manners at your interview. Appearing confident is a lot easier when you know what it is that you’re talking about, meaning you are more confident when you are prepared.

 

Turn negatives into positives – Sell it to me, don’t say it to me

Think of an interview as a sales pitch, with yourself as the commodity. You are trying to get your interviewer to choose you over the rest of the other interviews they have lined up. It is important to prepare answers to negative questions that might arise. This will keep you from getting caught off-guard if they are eventually asked.  Think about qualities that can be potentially negative and a way to put a positive spin on them, do not try to seem evasive of these question as this will quickly raise a red flag to your employer.  Always answer question about your perceived weaknesses with honesty and self-awareness, discuss situations where those seemingly negative qualities have served you well during your job.  Refocus the emphasis of the conversation to the qualities that you know to be important to the functioning of the company with which you are interviewing, if you’ve learned from your research that the company regularly requires its employees to take the lead on group projects, you can discuss your leadership qualities and situations you’ve put these trait to use.

Filed Under: Articles, Blog Tagged With: acing an interview, interview tips

February 21, 2018 By LC-Admin Leave a Comment

Recovering from common interview blunders

Despite your best efforts, unexpected slip-ups could still occur during your interview, either due to foreseen or unforeseen circumstances.  Here we are going to help you correct these errors or at the very least mitigate their impact.

 

Late!!

First Impressions matter and nothing raises a red flag to interviewers more than a late interviewee. If, due to no fault of yours, you get stuck in traffic or possibly have motor troubles and there’s a slight chance you are going to be late to the interview, try to alleviate the situation preemptively by calling your interviewer. Explaining your situation, giving them a heads up, and apologizing before you are late, this makes a better impression instead of having them wait for you. The most important thing to remember is to not offer lame excuses for your lateness, accept responsibility for your tardiness and apologize for the inconvenience.  If you realize you are going to be more than 15 minutes late, ask if you should still come in or if the interviewer would like to reschedule.  Once you arrive at the interview, apologize again, and then move on because your interview may be cut short or may be rushed due to your tardiness.

 

Flubbing a question in the interview

A lot of things can go wrong when you answer a question during an interview,  if you are not comfortable with your answer to a question, you can start over by saying something like “Can I rephrase that” or “what I meant to say was”.  If the interviewer has moved on, its best to readdress it again naturally in a later question.  For example, if an interviewer asked about your leadership abilities, and you feel you didn’t answer as well as you could, when a question comes up such as “Why should we hire you?” or “Why do you want to work for us?” refer more effectively to your leadership abilities. If you are stumped by a question, the first option is to stall for time by asking the interviewer to ask the question again, if after that you still don’t know the answer to the question, its best to keep your answer short and in a general way, for example “I’m not familiar with the technique you’re describing; my experience in the area has included …” or “I have not encountered that before, but I’d love to learn more.”, either way do not pretend to be more knowledgeable than you actually are.

 

Poor Closing

Interviewers like to end interviews by asking their interviewees if they have any questions or would like to say anything to help their cause. If it seems like this question is optional you are sorely mistaken. Asking no questions can imply a lack of enthusiasm, interest or passion, it is always advisable to prepare a few insightful questions ahead of the interview.  So if you can’t think of a question, its ok to circle back and use phrases like, “this is a lot of information to digest, I’d like to think through the questions and follow up by email.”.  If you didn’t ask a question during the interview, it’s advisable to prepare some for the next time you are in contact with the interviewer. Researching the company makes it easier to ask questions.

 

Some blunders you don’t recover from though, so it’s best to keep away from the following:

  • Coming to the interview unprepared
  • Showing up at the interview without having thought about it at all
  • Looking at your phone during the interview
  • Conveying to your interviewer that you don’t care about the job at all — you just need an income
  • Answering the interviewer’s questions without listening to them
  • Bashing your last employer
  • Talking about politics or religion (hot button issues)
  • Expressing disdain for work

Good luck at the next interview!!

Filed Under: Archives, Articles, Blog Tagged With: interview, interview blunders recovering from interview blunders, interview tips, job, jobs in lagos, lagos

May 14, 2017 By LC-Admin Leave a Comment

Are You Ready For That Interview?

So you think that you are ready for that job interview?
interviewCongratulations on getting your foot in the door with a new organization! Securing a coveted interview with a potential employer means you have passed the first test.  Yes, being asked to interview is an achievement in itself.

 

The time to prepare to wow the interviewer(s) with your knowledge, relevant experience, and ability to meld with the company’s corporate culture is now!

Let’s check some signs that you are not prepared for the big job interview with tips on how to get ready to rock it instead.

Sign 1: You don’t know about the company

It will be obvious to your interviewer if you didn’t do your research ahead of time—and it will hurt your chances of being asked back. You do not know what type of work the company does, the company culture, or any details of the position you have applied for. You really are not prepared if you know nothing about the company.

Fix it

Visit the company’s website to learn about the company’s services or products, the clients they serve and what it does best. Likewise, you could even reach out to a couple of the company’s current employees to find out what they love most about working for the organization. Also visit the company’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages to get a better understanding of the company, any bleeding needs they have, and, most importantly, the company’s culture. Do your homework ahead of time by researching the company

Sign 2: You forgot important documents

When you get the call for an interview, be sure to ask how many people will be interviewing you so you know how many copies to take along.  It also never hurts to have a couple of extra copies at hand.  Yes, you should have several copies of these printed items with you on crisp, professional paper.  Note that, if you did not bring your resume, cover letter and credentials, you are not prepared for the interview and it will show.

Fix it

The impressive thing to do is to visit the company website and social media after you receive an invitation to interview.  Review the requirements of the position for which you are interviewing and adjust your cover letter and resume accordingly to demonstrate how well you will fit in and what you bring to the table.  Print several copies at least two days before the interview on professional resume paper, this way, don’t have to panic about printing these the morning of the interview if you have taken care of this in advance.

Sign 3: You didn’t to dress to impress

The old adage “Dress to impress” still holds true.  Dressing is a big problem.  Recruiters report that candidates not dressing appropriately for the position are a major factor in their hiring decision. The excuse that you didn’t have proper interview attire, so you’re not dressed appropriately doesn’t hold water.

Fix it

You can invest in at least one great interview outfit, dress for the job you want. Keep your look conservative and professional. Try on your entire ensemble when you get home after buying, to make sure everything fits well and is comfortable far before the interview. This gives you time to make any necessary alterations and allows you to feel primed when the big day arrives.

The signs are quite enormous, so watch-out for the concluding part!

Filed Under: Articles, Blog Tagged With: interview, interview blog, interview tips, resume article

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