6 Job Interview Preparation tips to stand out!

You found an amazing job, applied for it and received a call from Recruiter… Congratulations!

But watch out, that’s just the start!

For you to make a cut above other candidates, you really need to stand out. You need to figure out - what makes you unique and more competitive than other applicants? What are your USPs and which differentiators can freeze your selection?

If you have answers to such questions, great! If you don’t, I can help you out. During my 15 years in Talent Acquisition experience, I have seen that candidates with good interview preparations always standout.

Interview preparation mainly involves researching the job and organization, building a good LinkedIn profile, creating a great first impression, highlighting strengths, asking the right questions and being oneself. How? Let’s discuss in detail…

1. Research your potential employer

This is a very important step. During the interview, recruiters/Interviewers may want to gauge the candidates on their knowledge about organisation’s vision, mission, offerings and business domain etc. Knowing about the prospective employer becomes a great deal while interacting with the interviewers. This makes the interviewers confident about your interest in the career opportunity.

You can easily collect the information by visiting company’s official website, exploring social media accounts, Glassdoor reviews and Google news. Additionally, do learn about company’s products/services, the market it caters to, immediate competitors, latest updates, awards, and special mentions etc.

2. Build a solid LinkedIn profile

When it comes to a professional social media network, LinkedIn comes first in mind! Optimizing your LinkedIn profile and updating it with the latest details such as your work experience, special achievements, any technical papers/webinars published, and technical certifications completed by you goes a long way.

So, to build a powerful LinkedIn profile, updating few basics first such as writing a strong headline, adding a crisp summary about yourself, having a front-facing and smiling professional photograph, optimizing your experience section with project details and portfolio links, and request recommendations, will go a long way.

Once you are done with the basics, start networking and be active. Networking will help you to be updated with the industry trends and being active on LinkedIn will help you to connect with your previous colleagues and other professionals.

Note: The selection process can range from a week to several months. So, don’t ignore LinkedIn because of the time crunch. Start doing it now.

3. Build that first and lasting impression

No matter how experienced you are, most of us feel the interview jitters before and during the interview process. Therefore, staying confident is very important.

To build the first impression, it is critical to groom yourself and wear good quality attire. Avoid wearing casual shirts/T-shirts with dark colours/designs during an interview as it might reflect your casual attitude. Also, do not apply body spray/perfumes/special makeup that may disturb the interviewing panel.

If it is a personal interview, reach at venue half an hour prior to the schedule. In case of a virtual interview, join the interview link at least 5 minutes before the scheduled time. Arriving/joining before time will give you time to settle in.

It is often observed that those candidates who gets delayed to attend the interview, feel more nervous. So, before the interview starts, take deep breaths, have a glass of water and try to recollect pointers to highlight during the interview.

Your body language reflects your confidence level. Be very flexible but composed during the discussion. Use the right gestures/hand movements to explain your point. Small gestures like sitting up straight instead of leaning on the chair and maintaining eye contact while giving answers can reflect your confidence.

4. Highlight strengths and skills with examples

The first step is to read and analyse the Job Descriptions (JD) very well. Identify your core strengths, skills and achievements which are matching with the job requirements. Another must-to do step is to review your resume which should be well-articulated highlighting your skills and work experience. Your professional assignment details should be mentioned in reverse order i.e. starting with your present assignment first and then the previous ones. You can also take the help of a professional resume writer.

During the interview, share relevant facts/examples of deliverables e.g. if you are applying for a Project Manager role, then highlight the scope, budget, challenges and achievements you experienced including the latest technical stacks that you had worked on.

If you are a college fresher, please share details of the internship projects/assignments, you had completed along with the outcome.

5. Ask the right questions after the interview

At the end, the interviewer may ask “Do you have any questions for me?” This could be sometime tricky. Should you ask or refrain from asking?

Well, most of the recruiters and interviewers prefer candidates who ask questions. It reflects candidates’ curiosity, as well as their passion to learn rather than being told everything. If the recruiter/interviewer misses to ask you about your queries, feel free to say “I have a couple of questions. Can I ask those?”

It also reflects that you are being selective about the job opportunities that comes to your way. This is the positive thing that most recruiters/interviewers look in candidates. It shows that you know what you want from the job.

So, ask right questions about the content and context of the job role, initial 30/60/90 days’ goals, training/s, about the business unit you would be associated or on overall company culture, etc.

6. Be yourself

Most of the candidates tap into their interview persona, which could be their more professional and alternative version. There is no need to present any artificial traits to impress the interviewers; so, be very candid but professional.

Try sharing your honest areas of improvement. Your honesty and sharing a glimpse of your personality will be a fresh breath of air for the interviewer.

Extra Tip: Practice the mock interview at home before the actual interview. Ask your friend for help or record your own mock interview on mobile to watch and identify areas of improvement. This prep will certainly help you to work on your body language and thus improve your confidence.

Wrapping Up

Your confidence, body language, poise, attitude, basic social skills, ability to communicate, knowledge about the employer and relevant questions can make your impression on the interviewer actually outweigh your real credentials. So, prepare well.

All the best for your next interview!