Congratulations! . . . you did everything we told you to do with your resume, and you landed an interview. Now what? Once again, the competition is fierce, as you’ve probably already guessed. As a result, you should have greater awareness of the interview process, what it entails, and what you should be doing during it.
The stakes have been raised. More is expected of candidates, and more is what you’ll need to give hiring managers. Here’s “what nobody is telling you” about the interview:
- Know everything about the company you can—This is the information/technology/social media age. Hiring managers expect you to know about their company when they interview you. And if you want to stand out from the other people being interviewed, you’ll have to know more than anybody else, as well. So, scour the Internet for all the information you can find—know who the top officials are, read blogs about the company or its role in the industry, check out their presence in social media, etc. The information is out there; go after it.
- Ask as many questions as you can—Once again, this has always been a good idea, just like researching the company. But now . . . it’s expected that you’ll have questions during the interview. So it’s not enough just to have questions, you must have good questions—probing questions that show hiring managers you’ve not only done your homework but that you’re practically ready to tackle your first assignment right now.
- Replace a sense of desperation with confidence and passion—You might be unemployed. You might currently be in a bad employment situation, one from which you want to escape. Make sure none of that desperation comes through in the interview. It never plays well, regardless of your skills or work history. Carry yourself with confidence, and display the passion for what you do and how you want to help the company. Passion is memorable, but desperation is forgettable.
Companies want to hire candidates who are passionate, knowledgeable, and motivated to help them achieve their goals. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to exhibit all of these characteristics during the interview. Possess them and present them. Now you’ve been told.
"What Nobody is Telling You" is an article series put on by Continental Search.
Daniel C. Simmons is a Certified Personnel Consultant who has been recruiting since 1991. Dan has won over twenty awards in the last decade with the Top Echelon Network, America’s leading placement network including Placer of the Year in 2009 & 2010.
Frequently Dan also is a recruiter trainer and has been featured at various Top Echelon Conventions and online as a speaker for various webinars. He has also been published in The Fordyce Letter the recruiting industry’s #1 magazine.
Is Your Company Looking for Great Candidates? Contact Dan Today!