7 Tips To Help You Create The Right Impression
First Impression Counts — If you’re interviewing at a company that has a smart dress code, make sure you turn up to the interview looking smart and professional. A sharp suit, shirt and clean shoes are the easiest way of making the right impression. We have discussed more on what to wear in your next job interview here.
Stand Up as the Interviewer Enters the Room — As the interviewer walks into the room, make sure that you stand up, smile and give a firm hand-shake. This shows that you’re a professional candidate who is someone this company should be looking to hire. It’s also a great idea to person’s first name during your greeting, however, do keep it professional. Remember your looking for a job rather than a new best friend.
Starting the Interview — For the first 5 minutes, you need to try and have a bit of chit-chat. Make sure that you ask an open-ended questions in order to encourage the interviewer into a conversation. The ability to demonstrate an interest in both the company and the role in a friendly manner will ensure that the interview starts off on a positive note. Given that all candidates interviewing will most likely have very similar skills and experiences, it’s often the candidate who comes across the most enthusiastic will make the best impression.
During the Interview — During your interview, you need to make sure that you sound both professional and enthusiastic. If you use boring tones in your speech, you will not show off your personality so make sure that you smile and sound enthusiastic. When communicating with the interviewer, make sure that you avoid any confrontational subjects which could lead to an argument or may cause offence. Specifically, avoid policies or religion.
Body Language — Where possible try to mirror your interviewer’s body language, posture, speech pattern or voice tone as it will make them feel that you’re completely engaged with them. If they learn back in their chair, do the same, if they speak slowly, then you should speak slowly, however, make sure that you are not obvious and coping every move they make otherwise this could have the opposite effect and turn your interview into a game of movements.
Answer the Interviewers Questions — If you’re asked a question about yourself, make sure that you answer the question within the first couple of sentences. Yes, you can use examples but make sure that you get to you point pretty quickly. As a recruiter, the number of times over the last few years that candidates have failed interviews because they have not answered the question because they have been too focused on trying to build rapport would amaze you.
After the Interview — Make sure that you follow up your interview with a “Thank you Note” which will both show that you enjoyed the meeting but also keep you in the interviewer’s mind. As a recruiter, if you interview 10 people during a single day, but the time you have finished the last candidate you cannot remember what the first one looked like. A “Thank you Note” always helps to remember the candidates.
