Bio: Jeremy is an HR executive and he has been working as a recruiter for many financial and banking institutions. Jeremy’s specialization is interviews and he has conducted over a thousand interviews for mid and low level managerial posts and his experience and know-how make him the ideal person to answer any question based on interviews and how to tackle them. To know more click here.
“You never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression.”
Job interviews are opportunities to excel and what a candidate says and does either puts them up for consideration in the next round of interviews or removes them from the pool of candidates. Impressions, good or bad, can be made very easily and a bad dress code or a slip of the tongue could cost the candidate the job.
Interview techniques should be honed and researched. The candidate should be readily available with support information with the details he’s placed on his resume. In essence, the candidate must be able to showcase his qualifications for the job, his interest in the company and the ability to stay calm, to remain focused and to be engaging in conversation. The first image is often the standard for every subsequent meeting hence it is imperative to make a very good impression.
Well Prepared
Candidates should be familiar with their own facts such as dates of employment and previous job descriptions. These should not cause thought during the interview process but come off the tip of the tongue. One’s past work history will be examined thoroughly and it is shameful if they themselves are not entirely familiar with it. Research should also be done on the firm which is conducting the interview as it will show a desire to know all there is to know and it will also make the interviewer answer a few of the interviewee’s questions, which recruiters often like.
The Unsaid
There are many factors which count negatively and these factors start before even a word has been spoken. Candidates who enter interviews with chewing gum in their mouths or with a cup of coffee are given negatives. Scuffed shoes, inappropriate dressing and even listening to your iPod while waiting to be called in ass as negatives. It is important not to talk or text message on the phone while waiting for the interview as recruiters may see it as a lack of interest.
The Said
Verbal communiqué is of course, the most important. Colloquialism and slang should not be uttered and the entire process should be kept as professional as possible. Clarity and unambiguity in speech should be maintained. Most recruiters will not mind a candidate waiting and thinking about a question and then answering it. However, one should always practice questions as they help the candidate become comfortable in responding to simple questions with deftness.
The Unimaginably Simple Art of Listening
Listening is a very important part of any verbal communication. It is the only way for dialogue to exist and for the interviewer to know that there is transmission of idea. Job interviews make for easy distraction. There is tension in the environment and the candidate is put on the spot and is asked to respond to questions. It is always easier to respond the interviewer by listening to him closely, by paying attention to the interviewer’s body language and his voice modulation. Paying attention can give the candidate access to the knowledge of what the interviewer is seeking from the interviewee and thus, the interviewee can understand the interviewer better and respond to him in a more concise and adept fashion.
Impressing through the Unsaid
Non-verbal communication makes for other opportunities for the interviewee to make a mark. A professional disposition and an attentive body language makes the interviewer glad to be taking the interview and puts the ball firmly in the court of the interviewee.