Job Interview Tip #1: Research The Company
Read as much information as you can about the company and the position. Look them up on the web or call them to obtain company brochures and their annual report. If you obtained the interview from your response to a job posting, the job posting itself will often provide you with information about the company. This will help you to respond intelligently to the interviewers questions as well as allow you to formulate questions that you can ask of the interviewer. Your list of questions should not be limited to salary and benefit questions. In most cases, you should not even bring up the salary question during the job interview because you will likely blow your chances or being invited back. You'll want to tactfully find out if the company is going to be the right fit for you too. You will probably want to inquire about the corporate culture, management style and, opportunities for advancement, training and development programs, travel requirements and working hours.
Job Interview Tip #2: Dress For Success
Make sure that you are dressed appropriately and that your clothes are clean and pressed. Years ago when I sent a candidate on an interview for a programmer position with a financial institution, he showed up in a pair of jeans and an old worn out t-shirt that had a beer slogan on it. He was lucky because at that time, everyone was gearing up for Y2K and he happened to be a mainframe programmer, with skills that were very highly in demand at that time. The company hired him anyway!
Job Interview Tip #3: Go In With The Right Attitude
Some people approach the interview process with an attitude of "what's in it for me?". Remember that the company is the one with the cookie, they potentially have a job that you want but will not make an offer to you unless you can demonstrate "what's in it for them". You need to be prepared to present your value to the organization. Still, other people approach the interview process with an air of desperation, especially if they are unemployed or hate their current job. You need to find a way to relax and trust that if this interview doesn't produce the offer that you want, then that's okay, at least you got to practice your interviewing skills. If you don't get a second interview or an offer, you have been given the opportunity to evaluate your performance and improve it for the next time.
If this article has helped you, then be sure to check out this this great resource The Job Interview Success System. And you'll want to check out Preparing For A Job Interview for more information.
Laura Whitelaw is a professional resume writer and helps job seekers create attention grabbing resumes, design effective job search strategies and conduct effective job interviews. Visit Best Choice 4 Resumes to find out more about professional resume writing, job search techniques and job interview strategies.