Why the First Ten Minutes of Your Interview are the Most Important
Posted December 13th, 2016
Everyone knows that making a positive first impression is vital when interviewing for a position. However, what many candidates don’t know is that you only have ten minutes to make that impression. After the first ten minutes of your interview, most hiring managers have already made a decision about whether you are still in contention. That means, if you aren’t successful during these first critical moments, you may be removed from the potential hires list before you finish the standard interview questions.
If you want to make the most of your ten minutes, here are some tips to help you nail this critical time period.
Understand What Employers Want to Know
Hiring managers interview candidates with key questions in mind. However, these inquiries are often unspoken. To make the most of your interview time, you need to address these points even if you are not directly asked.
Use part of your ten minutes to explain why you applied and what you have to offer the company. They also want to understand how you would fit into the current culture and what makes you stand out from the competition.
The best approach often involves short narratives regarding a past experience. That way you can assert the traits you possess while providing useful context. Consider recent accomplishments and how they can relate to answering the hiring managers questions, and work them in early.
Research the Company
Before any interview, its good practice to research the company inside and out. Get to know their product or service offerings and information about the organization’s history. Try to find their mission statement, and make sure you commit the concepts expressed to memory. You want to understand how the business’ offerings fit into that mission. That allows you to connect with the company (and hiring manager) on a deeper level than candidates who fail to put the pieces together.
If you want to go the extra mile, find a recent (and positive) piece of news about the company and express your admiration when explaining why you would like to work for the business. This lets them know you are excited about more than a paycheck.
Shift the Paradigm
Most candidates approach the interview with a job-seeker mentality. This approach often comes from a place of weakness or vulnerability and can affect your delivery. By changing your mindset from job seeker to problem solver, you can approach the situation more confidently.
Ultimately every open position is a sign of a problem that needs a solution. Whether the problem is not enough hands on the production line, a skills gap caused by an equipment change, or a recent vacancy, finding the right candidate is their ideal solution. So, by seeing yourself as a potential solution to a critical problem, you can articulate why you are an ideal selection.
Interested in becoming the solution to an area business’ problem? Bayside Solutions is here to help you make that connection. Contact us today and see what we can find for you.
