Job interviews are among the most nerve wracking experiences you encounter as an adult, and it's perfectly reasonable to get a little worked up in advance. As always, however, Mankind has your back. We've put together a list of job interview tips, and if you follow them, you're guaranteed to be able to make the most of your job interview.
Job interview tips
1. Scrub up well
A clean shave and smart hair cut is traditionally the look of choice, but in many sectors of work this is optional and facial hair is considered acceptable. The crucial thing is look neat and well put together. Take care of your skin, and style and groom your hair and beard so that you look presentable.
2. Dress to impress
Dressing appropriately won’t convince anyone you’re the right candidate by itself. That said, dressing completely inappropriately will substantially harm your chances. Try and scope out the dress code in advance.
If you’ll be expected to suit up in your day to day role, then wear a well-cut suit in good condition. For roles where the dress-code is more relaxed, as a rule of thumb, dress one step smarter. For example, smart casual is fine when interviewing for a job where the dress code is relaxed, but you should suit up if the day-to-day dress code is smart casual. If in doubt, always suit up.
3. Come prepared
Expect to talk about how your previous experience fits in with the role you’re interviewing for. Think of some relevant examples of times when you’ve demonstrated the skills your new role will require.Do some research about the company, about the role on offer, and about areas of the work that you would be interested in getting involved in. This is a great way to show interest, and make sure you don’t run out of things to talk about in the interview.
4. First impressions count
There’s a ton of evidence to suggest that interviews succeed or feel in the initial stages. Maximise your chances of success by being calm and collected, and make sure your appearance is 100 percent on point.
Start with the basics. Make sure you smell good by using deodorant and fragrance. Smelling bad immediately gives people a poor impression of you. Have some blotting paper on hand to control any shine on your skin or sweat on your hands. Give firm handshakes, remember to maintain eye contact, and smile. This will naturally make you appear more confident.
5. The first 30 seconds are the worst
This might sound overly negative, but hear us out. If you go into the interview with the attitude that the most uncomfortable and awkward moments of the interview will be over after 30 seconds, then once the jitters begin to fade, things can only improve.
Rather than being a hard and fast rule, this is more of a psychological trick. After the initial nerves have dissipated you’ll be able to feel confident and focus on excelling in the interview to come.
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