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Interviews - Before Interview
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Prepare in advance.
The better prepared you are, the less anxious you will be and the
greater your chances for success.
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| Role play |
Find someone to role play the interview
with you. This person should be someone with whom you
feel comfortable and with whom you can discuss your
weaknesses freely. The person should be objective and
knowledgeable, perhaps a business associate.
Assess your interviewing
skills. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Work
on correcting your weaknesses, such as speaking rapidly,
talking too loudly or softly and nervous habits such
as shaking hands or inappropriate facial expressions . |
- Decide what questions you would like to ask
and practice politely interjecting them at different
points in the interview.
- Evaluate your strengths and your skills, abilities,
and education as they relate to the type of job
you are seeking.
- Practice tailoring your answers to show how
you meet the company's needs, if you have details
about the specific job before the intervie
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Assess your over-all appearance.
Find out what clothing is appropriate for your industry.
Although some industries such as fashion and advertising
are more stylish, acceptable attire for most industries
is conservative.
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Have several sets of appropriate
clothing available since you may have several
interviews over a few days.
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Your clothes should be clean
and pressed, and your shoes polished.
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Make sure your hair is neat,
your nails clean, and you are generally well
groomed.
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Research the company. The
more you know about the company and the job you
are applying for, the better you will do in the
interview. Get as much information as you can
before the interview.
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Have extra copies of your
résumé available to take on the
interview. The interviewer may ask you for extra
copies.
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Make sure you
bring along the same version of your résumé that
you originally sent the company. You can also refer
to your resume to complete applications that ask
for job history information (e.g., dates of employment,
names of former employers and their telephone numbers,
job responsibilities, and accomplishments). Arrive
early at the interview. Plan to arrive 10 to 15 minutes
early. Give yourself time to find a rest room so
you can check your appearance. It's important to make a
good impression from the moment you enter the reception area.
Greet the receptionist cordially and try to appear confident.
You never know what influence the receptionist has with your
interviewer. With a little small talk, you may get some helpful
information about the interviewer and the job opening. If you
are asked to fill out an application while you're waiting, be
sure to fill it out completely.
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