It does not matter if you are still a student or already an experienced professional, it always comes a time when you have to SHINE ON and this is…the job interview!
Haaaaaa! If like me you can already feel your heart racing at the only evocation of the words, this article might be of some use to you.
The fact is that we are more or less used in marketing, communications, and other business related fields to pitch big concepts, ideas or products and to make them look awesome….
… or not.
But anyway! Things are not that easy when it is YOU that you have to sell …because this is what job interviews are all about in the end.
As you already know I am far to be classed in the “experienced professional” group having still my BA in Media and Communication in progress…but I’ve had to pitch myself very recently too.
And the person I had an interview with was not any employer. Let’ say that my future career kind of depends on his trust and financial investment. Let’s say that more than getting a contract, I had to convince him to agree to give me “some” money without any direct benefit for him. Let say that it was my father and that I had to convince him to pay the fees of the MA of my dreams (in International Marketing and Business Development for anyone who cares).
The fact is that as he loves to remind me at every occasion: my father is NOT Bill Gates and I thus would have to be HIGHLY persuasive in order to convince him that I AM the future MARKETING GODDESS of the century and that he cannot be wrong in trusting my choice. Moreover, he is second Dan in Kendo so I’d better not make him loose his patience…
So how to do to be THE awesome job applicant (or daughter in my case…)?
The first advice comes directly to us from Green Day: “Know Your Enemy”! I know than enemy might not be the exact word here but the intention is still present: the number one tip for a successful job interview is to know as much as possible about the company you are applying to and if possible about the person who is going to interview you.
This step was made relatively easy to me acknowledging that I’ve known my dad for 22 years now. I could even find to which profile he belonged to and thus know what kind of arguments would be more effective with him. My dad is actually like me, (or vice versa maybe) that is to say an achiever, very concrete results oriented. And I have no doubts that arguments like “I will be very happy if you do this for me” would not have been “concrete result oriented” enough. Find out more about McClelland’s Model of Motivation and recognize your motivational profile HERE . You can also try to discover the one of people you know to convince them more easily in the future by using arguments that will work with them!
But for the few of you who won’t be interviewed by your father, the best way is to find some information on the internet and particularly on social networks to figure out what kind of person is the one you have to impress on the I Day (I for Interview day, I just made this up).
The second advice will be to watch out your body language and to make sure you come dressed in a proper way! The first impression is indeed very important and there is no second chance with this by definition…The problem is that “to be dressed in a proper way” really depends on the job you are applying for and you thus have to find out if the style of the company would more fit with a more casual style (but still classic don’t take any risk!) or a really formal one. As far as I am concerned I took care to wear a dress my father had offered me before…haha the idea is to fit with the interviewer’s expectations isn’t it?
Then it is all up to what you are going to say during the interview… STAY CALM and be focused on the message you want to pass across. The best is to arrive at the interview ON TIME, well prepared by rehearsing typical interview questions with a friend (HERE are some good examples!) but most of all to be POSITIVE! Nobody wants a gloomy and stressed out applicant in his or her company! Be enthusiastic about what you are doing and make feel your motivation to your interviewer with some positive energy that will make you look confident and dynamic
No need to be ecstatic neither hum….we don’t want you to look like under the influence of psychoactive substances…
Once you are done and finally free, don’t forget that it might be relevant to send a thank you note to your interviewer (at his office not at his personal address… you might be taken as a kind of stalker…). HERE are some advices to write your thank you note.
To sum up:
• Know everything you can about the company and your interviewer
• Look great and in control of yourself
• Be prepared, focused and positive!
• Send a thank you note
I hope your next interview will be as successful as mine with my father It is now up to me not to disappoint him not to be cut into pieces TToTT Tell me about your bad or good job interview experiences! Are you preparing one at the moment? Did this post help you? Do you have any other tips? Join the conversation!! Youhou!!
keotaro 