Just to bring you up to speed, in earlier posts, I talked about First Step, The Resume and the Telephone Interview, Step 2 – these are steps you don’t want to miss in the preparation. Step 3 is about getting yourself prepared for the on site/in person interview.
In the present economic market you want to go into your interview prepared. Let’s say you’re an RN – you recently graduated and you’re applying for a position at a nearby hospital. You have some pretty stiff competition for the job, but you were invited in for an interview – congrats.
What if your competitors didn’t prepare for the interview?
They could actually tank the interview from the beginning with the dreaded “tell me about yourself.” They did tank if they approached the question like this:
Candidate #1, Sue said: I am a mother of two and I saw your opening in the paper. It looked like a great opportunity so I thought I would apply.
Candidate #2, Bruce said: I was an RN with City Hospital in Poughkeepsie. They just went through a major restructuring, so here I am.
You, Candidate #3: You tell them that you are a recent graduate of City College’s RN program. You might mention you were in the top of your class. In addition, you could talk about how you gained a reputation for compassionate care, (you know ahead of time this is a big deal to the hospital because it’s a part of their corporate mission).
If you are well prepared for your interview you will find that you are comfortable:
- Building rapport with your interviewer
- Asking questions
- Answering tough questions
- Speaking about your successes
- Talking about your strengths
- And telling your prospective employer about a weakness (and it wasn’t something that would get you eliminated from the applicant pool because you knew how to answer the question)
Most people don’t practice or prepare for any of the above. They just head into the interview and wing it. Sure, you can do that – question is why would you spend thirty grand on an education and then just wing it?
Take some time to get yourself prepared for your next interview. By preparing for your interview, you could set yourself up for a better offer. Who knows that could actually amount to thousands more in salary. Why chance it?
Interviewing does not have to be something you sweat. In fact, in just five easy steps you can be a much more relaxed interviewer.