Are You Ready To Ace That Interview & Land That Dream Job This Quarter In 45 Days Or Less? - The secret is in preparation!

A wise man once advised that if you have 10 hours to chop down a tree, you should spend 9 hours sharpening your axe.

This is how much we should pay attention to preparation!

It is 2020...and the bridge between you and your dream job is adequate preparation.

If you have been on the job-seeking journey for some time now, you will agree that what makes you most nervous at the opposite end of the table is your lack of preparedness.

Preparation gives you enough avenue to grasp knowledge and ideas about the organisation and role, and these combine to give you some form of confidence. 

Yes. No candidate is as nervous as one who doesn't know what to say. By this, I do not mean that you must know the correct answer to every question.

I'm certain that even the recruiters themselves do not expect that you know the correct answers to all their questions, what matters is that you answer the question from an appropriate angle. An angle that is well thought out instead of being rushed.

Speaking from a careers & employability specialist's perspective, I can assure you that most interview questions are context-based. Experiences differ and for that reason, there is no one perfect answer.

I believe this quickly answers the question I often get from job seekers who ask how many wrong answers will count against them.

Back to what I was saying, preparation is what gives you the edge among a pool of other candidates. It is not just what makes the difference... It is the Difference.

Adequate preparation is what makes for a job-winning interview; as it makes you the decider of your fate as well as saving both the recruiter and yourself ample time to move forward for other tasks.

Now to the main course.

How do you prepare to crush the job interview of your dream?

Here are my top 3 expert advice. These have been used over time by my job trainees at Norwood Employability, and the result marvels me each and every time.

Ready?

Let's go!

1) Be The Best Fit The Organisation Wants:

Believe it or not, the essence of every job interview is to find the best fit for a given role. This is why some organisations go as far as having 3-5 stages in their recruitment process.

The end goal is to get the best fit. Simple and short. Keeping this in mind when as you prepare for that job interview should make you assess yourself in two significant lights -what are you bringing to the table and how well can you perform in a team.

Every organisation has a peculiar culture, so beyond being qualified in certification/skills, recruiters ensure they pick candidates that can easily blend into.

This tells you how essential it is to research the organisation you are interviewing for. Devote quality time in finding out all there is to know about them - what's their mission, vision and core values?

Do these align with your short/longterm goals? How can you make them better? What do you hope to learn working with the organisation? Etc

2) Be Self-Confident:

Your confidence level is one of the parameters that the recruiters will use to weigh your suitability for a given role. Having a good dose of self-confidence is primal to your success in the job interview.

Even though it has been deliberately stated that adequate preparation gives you the needed boost you need, you sure have to be intentional about it.

Having worked with a lot of job seekers, I have surely seen it all. A good number of job seekers are intelligent on paper. They know their onions and have the tendency to perform on the job excellently if given the job, but they hardly ever make it past the interview stage because of the sheer lack of self-confidence to express their worth and value to the recruiters.

We are in a world of sales and if you cannot sell yourself well, you will most definitely be submerged in the crowd. Hence, by all means, work on your confidence.

Truth is, every recruiter understands that you are nervous. I mean, It is natural to be nervous when on a hot seat.

Your attention on how nervous you are will only make matters worse because, at that moment, you are concerned about impressing the recruiter, not making mistakes, etc...

The counter effect of this is that you will appear much more jittery, your voice shakier and you'd likely blow things up for yourself when asked crucial questions.

Here's the trick, learn to calm that nervosity. One way that helps do this is by having in mind that the recruiter in front of you is a human being; not an enemy-robot.

Make sure your mind is calm and think through before answering any question. One thing anxiety does to you is making you jump on questions you haven't quite processed in your brain and giving out quick inefficient answers.

Resist that temptation by taking some seconds to think through what you are about to say. Nobody is going to beat you for doing that. If anything, it gives the recruiter the impression that you can work well under work pressure.

Also, remember to maintain good eye contact while speaking as well. It shows your self-esteem is in the right proportion.

3) Show How Valuable You Are.

Everything in life, work and business revolve around value. People pay for what is of value to them.

Like I always say, no organisation employs you because you need a job. Or you have got bills to pay. Never! You will be employed based on what is in it to the organisation.

What best time to show your worth other than the interview time. I assume that at this point, you already have fundamental information about the organisation and the role you are interviewing for.

Map out how you can add value in this light. Showcase how motivated, smart and useful you are as you answer any question asked. This enthusiasm oftentimes makes all the difference in the interview because not everyone has that.

Feel free to read this again, and may the odds be in your favour!

Good luck this quarter!