The spring semester is here, meaning only a few months stand between you and summer. However, for some people spring semester means looking for internships or jobs after graduation. If the idea isn’t stressful enough, there are interviews you have to get through first. Although they may be a breeze for some, for most people interviews can mean anxiety. However, there are steps that you can take to help ease that anxiety and nail your next interview.
1. Pick Three
A tip moving forward into an interview is to pick three topics about yourself that you want to bring up. If you consider yourself to be a strong leader, have strong writing skills and have extensive volunteer experience, then you want to highlight those things. Having those three topics in your back pocket can act as a safety net. Your interviewer might ask you to describe yourself or your strengths, this would be a perfect time to have at least one answer prepared.
2. Dress to Impress
This may seem simple, but make sure you have dressed appropriately for the situation. A good outfit can have an incredible impact on your self-esteem. Feeling confident going into your interview is so important for success. Interviewers can tell when someone is nervous or when someone is sure of themselves, so lay your outfit out the night before so there is no stress the day of your interview.
3. Ask Questions
Usually, at the end of an interview, your interviewer is going to ask if you have any questions. Don’t tell them no. Always have at least question for the interviewer. Questions that you could ask include:
- Why do you enjoy working for the company?
- What would the career path look like for someone in the position you are interviewing for?
- What can you expect moving forward from here?
- What do the daily responsibilities of this position entail?
You want to express your interest in the position and your eagerness to learn more.
4. Research the Company
Know the company that you are interviewing for and understand the basics of the position that you hope to fill. Look into how the company came about and what their beliefs are. It puts a bad taste in the interviewer’s mouth if you know nothing about their company. Chances are they are going to ask you at least one question regarding the company. Even if you don’t have a full understanding of everything the company does, you should be interested in learning.
An interview with a company can be intimidating because it helps to decide what is going to happen in your future. Interviews are a great time to impress the company and help to secure that dream job. Interviews are not always unpredictable, so make sure to follow these steps to improve your interview skills. Pick some topics that you would like to bring up, think about your outfit, show interest and ask your interviewer questions and finally make sure you research the company. Interviews can be tackled if you take the time to prepare and practice.