How to Succeed at Job Interviews

Whether you are looking to switch careers or coming straight out of college we are all looking to grow professionally. As the unemployment rate rises, you have to do everything possible to give yourselves the edge over other job candidates. We will review a couple key ways that will help you succeed at a job interviews and ultimately get the job!

The following are all great tips I have found to give me an advantage in an interview:

1) Prepare commonly asked interview questions- Bottom line, this is a must. If you are serious about getting the job, you should spend as much time as you can up until you have the interview preparing commonly asked interview questions. Learn everything you can about the company you are interviewing for and about the job description. Countless times during an interview I have had interviewers ask me the details of the job position. The interviewer is trying to not only see if you are qualified for the job but if you really want it!
Here's a link to some commonly asked interview questions:
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htm

2) Stand up to shake the hand of the interviewer when they enter the room- It sounds like a common courtesy but many times when I have gone in to interview candidates, who have been seated beforehand, they do not stand to shake my hand. Looking the interviewer in the eye, giving a firm handshake, and standing up when they enter the room are all good points of etiquette that leave a good first impression.

3) Limit the small talk and only laugh when appropriate- When the interviewer says something that is meant to be funny then you should laugh but as for the rest of the interview constant laughter comes off as a sign of nervousness. A certain level of nervousness is to be expected in interviews but it should not be so much that it looks like you lack self confidence.

4) Bring a copy of your resume- A lot of times we forget the small things such as bringing a copy of our resume to the interview. I have had interviews where the interviewer was so unprepared they did not even have a copy of my resume. While it does look bad when the interviewer is not prepared, the interviewee should always be prepared. If you get more than one job offer during your interviews then the ball will be in your court as to which job you would like to choose.

5) Show up early, no earlier than 15 minutes- It's always good to be early but not too early. If you are there earlier than 15 minutes, the interviewer could feel pressured to get you in and out of there. From my experiences with interviews, it is always hard to find the job site. Leave home with plenty of time to drive around if you get lost.

6) Answer interview questions with real life examples- When answering questions, always back up your answers with examples from your own life to illustrate your claims. If you are good under pressure then be able to give an example of when you performed well under pressure.

7) Don't Lie- It is one thing to spin your answers to put you in a positive light but never flat out lie. Most the time an interviewer can see through false statements. If the interviewer catches you in a lie or suspects you of lying you surely will not get the job.

8) Men wear suits, women look professional- Do not show up in jeans. It doesn't matter if you are interviewing for a construction job or a job where you know the employees wear jeans. Just because the office culture allows for employees to wear jeans, it does NOT mean you get to wear jeans to the interview. You are making a first impression so give yourself the biggest advantage.

9) Check your breath- Eat a breath mint before the interview. It's a small detail but when you have stiff competition for a job every detail counts.

10) Send a Thank You letter to the Interviewer(s)- I cannot stress this point enough! At the corporate job I have today the individuals I interviewed with still have the thank you letters I sent them after my interview. There are many websites that will show you how to correctly write a thank you letter. It is important to get the thank you letter out in the mail the same day as your interview. Think of it as a last point of sale, sending that thank you letter could give you the edge over others candidates that have been interviewed.

Remember if you don't get the job it's not the end of the world, keep your head up, and keep searching!