Preparing for your 1st interview?

Finding a new job is stressful ?? - I know that, and interviews can be overwhelming, especially if you are a fresh graduate or back on the market after many years.

Here are a few things that may help with your preparations.

Test your equipment (if your interview is online)

• Seems obvious? It's not.?

??Don't worry, I know that technology can fail in the most inconvenient situations, so if that happens, we can solve it together.

Learn more about the company

• No need to memorize every detail, but not knowing anything about the company you are interviewing with might give the interviewer the impression that you simply "don't care" about getting this job.?

??And when I say "learn" I mean it. It's hard not to notice when a candidate is looking things up and reading it while thinking that it's not obvious. Which brings us to the 3rd point:

Be honest

• If you don't know something, say that you don't know.?

?? Avoiding answering certain questions by talking about something else instead is not a good strategy.

Know your interviewer?

• Look up your interviewer in advance. Knowing their background will help you get a better idea of what to expect and how to prepare.?

??In most cases, you will meet with the recruiter in the 1st round and the topics will be more general, but the rounds after that would be more specific depending on the role you are applying for.??

Prepare your questions before the meeting

• You should leave the 1st interview feeling like you know what you need to know (not everything) to proceed to the next round.
• What are you curious about? Maybe there was something in the job description that you don't understand? Maybe the process and the next steps are not clear??

??Make sure that the questions are suitable for the interviewer you are meeting with. HR-related and general questions are the best for a recruiter. However, asking about how a day in the team looks like is much better to save for when you meet with the team.

I could go on and on and on ??but it would be most likely a very boring reading, so if you have some questions, ask away! ??????