How To Ace a Job Interview

Job interviews can be nerve-wracking experiences irrespective of your work experience, age and qualifications. If you’ve been looking for a job for a while but haven’t been able to get past the interview stage, maybe it is time to brush up on your interview skills.

Getting to the interview phase is an accomplishment, so first off, pat yourself on the back. You’ve impressed an employer because you have the right qualifications and/or experience. Now, it is time to make a better impression in person and show that you’ve got the soft skills needed to be a successful employee.

However, this can be stressful for a lot of people for all kinds of reasons. Maybe you have mild social anxiety or a little bit of imposter syndrome, and that’s okay. You’re not alone and the good news is, these are temporary feelings and there’s always a way to build your interview skills to overcome these obstacles.

If you are looking for a job, nervous about a job, or have never given a job interview before, we’ll fill you in on everything you need to know about how to ace a job interview.

Research your employers

Get to know the organization before the interview takes place so you’re up to date about its mission and vision. Visit their website online and look at their history, recent announcements, and press releases to find out about their achievements, and where they’re heading. Learn about the company’s values and cultures and find out who the executive officers are.

How will this help you ace the job interview?

First, it gives you a sense of where the company is heading and whether it aligns with your career goals. If it does, it allows you to prepare your interview answers in context to the organization’s overall profile. It’ll also help you identify how your experience and qualifications are useful to the overall company’s goals.

Second, the interviewer is likely to ask you questions about the company to gauge your level of interest. They also tend to ask how you perceive the company, in comparison to other competitors in the industry so doing the research will ensure you’re not caught off guard when they do.

Make an impression in the first five minutes to ace the interview

Most interviewers believe, they can tell within five minutes of meeting the candidate if they are the right fit for the company or not. How can you ensure you have cast a good impression in the very beginning so that you ace the interview?

1. Bring positive energy and enthusiasm, even if you have to fake it. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be yourself but put in more effort to appear confident so that the interviewer knows you’re happy to be there.

2. Thank the interviewer for taking the time out to interview it. Little things like these make you more memorable because an interviewer will remember how courteous you are.

3. Make a positive comment about the company. Begin by expressing how much you’ve looked forward to the meeting. Mention some of the work the company’s doing that has caught your eye or you’re interested in exploring further in your career. You can even talk about how excited you are at the prospect of contributing to the said initiative. Keep it brief and crisp.

Highlight what sets you apart

Talk about why you’re interested in that role and what makes you the right fit. List down at least three to six unique selling points about your experience and skillset that make you the most suitable candidate.

Seal the deal by backing each selling point with an example that supports your claim. If you’re talking about good communication skills, mention a time when you were able to persuade your team or management on making a certain decision and how it benefitted them. If you’re good at multi-tasking, talk about how you managed multiple job roles and still managed to meet the deadlines on various projects.

Make sure you talk about skills that you know the interviewer will be looking for. If you’re not sure about which ones to highlight, it’s always a good idea to discuss this with a recruiter. They will have better insights into what the organization is looking for and how to phrase it more convincingly and professionally.

Talk about why you want the job

The best way to ensure you’ve aced an interview and secure the position is to convince them that you’re very interested in the position, and the company. Even if the interviewer doesn’t ask this question, make sure you point out which aspects of the role/company attracted you the most.

You can talk about how your experience so far has prepared you to undertake the role and the challenges that come with it and that you’re interested in growing with the company itself.

Prepare some questions for the interviewer

Most interviewers end the discussion by asking candidates if they have any questions. There might be some things that come up during the interview and this is a good time to ask the interviewer to elaborate a bit more if they haven’t already.

If not, make sure you have already made a list of questions to ask them. The most conclusive question you can ask the interviewer is about what the ideal candidate for this job role looks like. Most people also like to ask about the kind of work culture the company believes in and whether they have any employee wellness benefits etc.

This will vary based on your interests and the role you’re applying for, but make sure you ask about something that hasn’t already been discussed during the interview to avoid redundancy.

Get into a positive mindset

Putting yourself in a position where you’re going to be judged on how you behave and what you say can be an anxiety-inducing experience, even if you’re the smartest person in the room.

The important thing to remember is that this can happen to anyone, so don’t be too hard on yourself. There are several measures you can take to learn how to calm your nerves and boost your self-confidence to ace that job interview.

Whether it is saying positive affirmations to yourself in the mirror every morning, practicing a power stance in the mirror before the interview, or simply taking deep breaths – everyone has something that keeps them going. Don’t give up on yourself!