Interviewing Principles
Keep these ideas in mind when preparing for and during your interview:
- Do your homework on the company, the interviewer and know your resume
- Practice describing your background and answering common questions
- Take pride in your past achievements and skills
- Dress appropriately. Pay attention to grooming details. Be on time
- Go easy on cologne
- Don't smoke before or during the interview
- Demonstrate your enthusiasm for the position and company
- Maintain eye contact
- Employ pertinent humor and a readiness to smile
- Shake hands with a firm, but not crushing, grip. Offer your hand, don't wait
- Remember the interviewer is experiencing as much stress as you are
- You are an applicant, not a supplicant. Interviewing is a two-way street
- LISTEN attentively. Let the employer talk
- Give examples of accomplishments
- Stress what you can do for the company
- If the interviewer fails to direct the conversation, take control tactfully
- Ask a few intelligent questions of each person you see
- Being the right person is as important as having the right skills
- Put your best foot forward. Give the appearance of controlled energy
- Avoid being defensive or negative
- Immediately after the interview, write notes to be referenced for follow-up
- Immediately after the interview, send a thank-you note