Make a good first impression on your interview by having answers to these questions

The old expression “you never get a second chance to make a good first impression” is never more true when it comes to the employment interview. How you present yourself on the initial interview could determine if you land that dream job and it may have nothing to do with your ability to do the job or not.

Typically a first interview with a recruiter is not an in depth discussion regarding the job but more of a high level qualification that you do meet the requirements. Other than that, the purpose of the first interview is to get you excited about the company and the opportunity and to determine how you may fit culturally in the organization. Your goal is to get past this interview and move on to the next round which will be more about the meat of the role.

There are two main questions that are important for any candidate to have the answers for - why are you looking for a new job and why do you want this job? Either directly or indirectly those questions will invariably be asked.And, recruiters, if you aren’t asking those questions in some form you are missing out on some key information! If as a candidate you are unable to answer either of those questions, you need to evaluate why you are on a job search now. 

Being able to articulate why you are in a job search with confidence and expressing a vision as to where you see your career going is essential. Avoid negative remarks and disparaging former employers or coworkers. Saying that you hate your boss and you want a higher salary is not an effective answer and could raise red flags as to how you could fit into the corporate culture. Those may be the reasons that you are looking, but you need to phrase it in a way that puts you in a positive light. “I feel that I have reached the limits of what I can accomplish at my current company and am looking to explore other options” would be one way to phrase it.

Once you have established why you are looking for a new job, you need to explain why this particular job is the one you want and why. Before your interview be sure to research the company and reread the job description. You want to make the case for why the company should hire you and why you want to work there. Explain how your experience matches the description, say how you are interested in the type of work the company is doing and that you reviewed the website. Companies want people who are aligned to their mission and are interested in a career. This is your best time to make your case. If you don’t do well now, you may not get another chance.

By making sure that you can give good, well thought out answers on your interview for why you are looking for a new job and why a company should hire you should result in you being successful in your interviews and hopefully have a few solid offers to choose from. Good luck!