5 Ways to Prepare for Your Very First Job Interview Effectively

A few months from now there will be a lot of fresh graduates.

In your first interview, the stakes are high. This job will set you on your career path and will be the stepping stone to your success.

Recently I posted on my social media page about how to overcome the fear in public speaking. If you'll look closely, job interviews are not so different. And in this article, I'll share the best practices that you should for you to ace your very first job interview.

Some may ask, what is it like to be in an actual interview?

At first, you would feel that you're very nervous, your heart is thumping, you’re finding it hard to concentrate especially with so many other candidates out there. You would find yourself going back and forth in the washroom.

If you want to ace your first interview, you have to overcome being so tense. Focusing too much on what you can't do or neither dwelling on what you can see on other candidates would help you calm yourself.

Remember, confidence can be gained by stepping your best foot forward. And one thing to do that is to prepare for that very big day.

Here are the tips on how to prepare yourself for that very big day of yours and gain the confidence that you need.

1. Know the Company

A classic mistake most fresh grads make is they fail to know about the company they are trying to be a part of. A rule of thumb is to research the company and prepare your own set of questions to ask your interviewers. Not only will this show you as an eager candidate but also someone who spent time getting to know about their prospective future employers. This goes a long way in setting you apart from the rest of the candidates. It may seem to be a simple thing to do but let me tell you, most of the young professionals have failed to do this part because of what we call laziness or what we all know as "Bahala Na!" mentality.

2. Sincerity With Your Answers

There is no standard, ‘right,’ answer to any question. Remember, the human resource person sitting across you has ample experience, knowledge and the perspective to decide what kind of candidate they want on their team. You should avoid rehearsing lines and giving generic answers to seemingly common questions. This is your time to talk about your strengths, how you are the right fit for the job and what you can offer to the table if they hire you. Be sincere. Be humble. Be confident as you can get. It's better to fail rather than having to put a different persona just because you wanted to get in. Either way, you will not last long if that would be the case because of your original personality that you hid during the interview.

Remember, a No would always mean a Yes to a better opportunity that would perfectly suit you.

3. Tackling Competency

Competency-based questions are designed to check your knowledge and see if you would be perfect fit, skills, and attitude. You may have to face questions like how you can handle stress or a high-pressure work pace. You may need to give examples of how you handle such situations and what component (of the any three above) did you use to resolve the problem/challenge. This set of questions is intended if you can handle the daily stress of the position that you're applying for. And like what I have mentioned on no. 2, be genuine with your answers.

4. Unique Strengths

There are plenty of other candidates out there probably with the same qualifications as you. They are probably even from your college or school. What is it that makes you different than them and why should this employer employ you and not them? Identify your strengths - its resilience? Is it your logical thinking? Is it the ability to think outside of the box? Is it creativity? Write it down and be prepared to give examples of where you have shown these strengths in real-life situations. You'll be surprised when you discover a hidden trait that you usually don't notice.

5. Don't be O.A. (Overselling Yourself, Mind the Balance)

The art of a successful interview is knowing where to strike the balance. Be confident, but don't be arrogant. Be vocal about your views but not annoying. Be smart, not egoistic. Sell your potential and your talent, but don’t overdo it. You may not have enough related experience if you’re a fresh graduate so your advantage should be your people skills.

Interviews for fresh graduates are always difficult but the more prepared focused and determined you are, the better your chances of securing your application. At the end of the day, it all depends on how badly you want the job and why you believe you are the right fit.

Best practice would be to write down things you know about yourself, including your strengths as well as your weaknesses. Think about stories, experiences or situations where you were able to utilize the best of your skills and changed the situation for the better. The more you know yourself, the better you will ace the interview!

Bonus Tip!

Whenever there's a need for you to tell a story for scenario-based questions, always answer by using the STAR approach.

The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.

Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done in the past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be from a previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.

Task: What goal were you working toward?

Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what was your particular contribution? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project, but what you actually did. Use the word “I,” not “we” when describing actions.

Result: Describe the outcome of your actions and don’t be shy about taking credit for your behavior. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Make sure your answer contains multiple positive results.

Make sure that you follow all parts of the STAR method. Be as specific as possible at all times, without rambling or including too much information. Oftentimes students have to be prompted to include their results, so try to include that without being asked. Also, eliminate any examples that do not paint you in a positive light. However, keep in mind that some examples that have a negative result (such as “lost the game”) can highlight your strengths in the face of adversity.

I'm sure by reading this article as a fresh graduate would help you gain direction and confidence. Now you know where to start, take action!