Getting Ready for the Interview
Posted August 19th, 2013
You have a big job interview coming up, and you may be wondering how you should prepare for it. One good way to prepare is through practice – going through a mock interview with a colleague or friend to rehearse your responses.
At the real interview, you want to try to hit a happy medium – you don’t want your answers to come across as dry, canned, and generic, but, on the other hand, you certainly don’t want to stumble over your answers, coming across as incompetent or unsure of yourself.
Practicing with a pretend interview can help you develop the confidence you need, to prepare answers that aren’t prefabricated or memorized, but are natural and help you to come across as competent and prepared.
To practice effectively, you need to find someone who will play the interviewer. You could use a family member or friend, but it would be better still if you were able to find a professional colleague. A colleague will be more knowledgeable about how you need to perform and will be better able to give you effective feedback on where you did well and where you need to improve.
If you cannot find anyone to practice with, the next best thing is to record yourself while you give answers to questions. Then, you will be able to evaluate your tone of voice and body language as you speak. At the very least, you should practice in front of a mirror so that you can observe yourself.
When you have your practice interview, you need to make it seem as much like the real thing as possible. That means finding a location that is new to you and dressing the part. It also means bringing along a resume and references. During these practice sessions, you want to particularly focus on those areas where you may feel most uncomfortable, such as negotiating a salary. You should practice the interview as many times as it takes for you to feel comfortable in the situation and with answering the questions.
Then, after you have finished your practice session, the person acting as the interviewer should give you an appraisal of your performance, including your mannerisms, body language, comportment, and the substance of your answers.
If you are looking for work in the engineering or IT sectors in the San Francisco Bay area, Bayside Solutions can find a position for you. Give us a call.
