Polly Amora is a Philippines based business woman, entrepreneur and blogger. She is the owner of Magniviq Marketing in Manila, Philippines and she runs her personal blog Polly Defies Gravity. Polly draws on her experiences in the business world to share her secrets to achieving success at your next job interview.

You’ve been waiting for days and you finally received that phone call asking you to come in for an interview. Just thinking about it is enough to make you feel stressed and nervous, right? You’ve impressed them with your CV and now is the time to prove to them in person that you are right for the job.

Here are some tips to help you pass ace your job interview.

PREPARATION

• Do your research. It is important that you familiarize yourself with the industry, the company and the position that you are applying for. The employer does not only want to know you are equipped with the right skills for the job but that you are passionate about the company and have an appreciation for the corporate culture.

• Beforehand, find out where the company is located, if it has multiple branches, how to get there and how long it will take to get to the interview. The last thing you want to have happen is to take off for the interview only to discover it’s on the other side of the earth.

• Think about job interview questions ahead of time so you won’t have a hard time formulating answers right on the spot. Be sure to rehearse your answers so you come across natural and confident.

• Rehearse with mock interviews. Ask someone you are comfortable with to “role play” as the interviewer or try talking to yourself in front of a mirror. This will help you gain confidence in your spoken English and get comfortable with the interview process.

Here are some commonly asked questions:

• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What makes you unique from other applicants?
• What is something that is happening in the industry at the moment that takes your interest? How do you think this will affect our business in the future?
• What transferrable skills did you develop in your previous employment that you will bring to this new role?
• Why did you resign from your last employer?
• Imagine you work for our firm – Who would be your ideal client and why? How would our business meet their needs?
• Why should we hire you?
• What has been your greatest accomplishment to date?

INTERVIEW DAY

Dress for Success: Present yourself and your qualifications confidently! If possible, avoid anything that is too loud, shows too much skin or figure (like short dresses or tight pants), too casual or anything that will be distracting. Professional business attire is strongly encouraged and highly recommended. Be sure to check your grooming such as your hair, clean fingernails, polished shoes, wrinkle-free clothing and if you wear makeup keep it minimal.

Be Punctual: Try to arrive 10 to 15 minutes ahead of your interview. This will give you enough time to relax and do a last-minute check of your appearance.

Be polite to everyone you meet from security guards to the secretary, show everybody that you are nice and friendly. Remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Interviewers often ask other employees whom you have come into contact with what their impression of you was. This is often used as an indicator as to whether you are an appropriate match for the firm’s work place setting and whether you can represent the firm in a positive light outside of work.

THIS IS IT! IMPRESS THEM!

Greet the interviewer with a firm handshake;  and introduce yourself with a genuine smile.

Maintain a good posture. Sit up straight, lean a little bit forward and make frequent eye contact rather than looking at your resume while coming up with an answer – eye contact conveys confidence and interest in what the interviewer is saying. Do not forget to smile.

Follow the S.T.A.R. strategy – Situation, Task, Action, and Result — it will help you give a coherently structured response to questions. This technique is a useful tool as it ensures you do not forget to include any important details and that the interviewer can easily gain the insight from your answer that they are looking for.

Let them know what you have to offer. Talk about your experiences and accomplishments (without bragging) and how your skills can help benefit you and the company. Confidence is the key  but be wary of over-confidence being misinterpreted as arrogance.

Count 5 seconds before answering each question, it helps you process the question and you won’t appear as though rushed (or nervous). This rule will help you avoid sentence fillers such as ‘um’, as you will have already given yourself the time to formulate your answer.

Use a calm yet professional tone of voice, be sure to speak slowly and use emphasis when appropriate. No need to rush!

Do not speak poorly of your previous employers/colleagues. This can give a potential employer the impression that you may be someone who is difficult to work with or who does not work well with colleagues. If you feel it is appropriate to mention a less positive aspect of your previous employment, make sure you phrase it as a challenge that you overcame – framing the experience as an example of positive personal growth.

It’s your turn to ask. Remember this is not a one-sided interrogations but a rather two-way conversation. Throw relevant questions such as ‘What are the prospects for growth and advancement?’ If you are finding it difficult to think of a question to ask your interviewer, then simply ask them about their job. Find out why they like working for the company and how they foresee they role within the company developing as the industry evolves.

 When the interview comes to an end, do not forget to thank the interviewer and offer a handshake. Small gestures can make big impressions. It is always good practice to email HR after your interview thanking them for their time in organising the interview, regardless of whether or not you ultimately get offered the position.

Your employer is looking for the ‘best’ person for job. So show them that no other candidate is going to fit in with their team as seamlessly as you will.

Good luck!

photo credit: pasukaru76 via photopin cc

Who’s Advice: Alok Bhardwaj

Worst First: Before you do anything else, do the least desirable things on your to-do list.

Why We Like It: This seems like the best way to enjoy the rest of your day and get rid of that nagging voice in your head telling you that should be doing jobs you don’t want to do.

Who’s Advice: David Allen

2-minute rule: When new tasks come in and they can be done in 2 minutes or less – do them immediately.

Why We Like It: This keeps your to-do list clear of menial tasks, which we think is the definition of productive.

Who’s Advice: Timothy Ferriss

80/20 rule. 20% of your activities are responsible for 80% of your output. If you identify this crucial 20% of key tasks then you can prioritise your workload more appropriately.

Why We Like It: It cuts time wasting through having a good understanding of what your activities achieve. We think this is a good tool for motivation as it can be easier to work most efficiently on tasks you see the value of doing.

Who’s Advice: Tony Hseih

The ‘Yesterbox Technique’ – Use yesterday’s emails as todays to-do list.

Why We Like It: Rather than a piece of expensive software, this is a free email management technique, which anyone can decide to adopt at any time. No expense is crucial for young business professionals and entrepreneurs.

  Who’s Advice: Francesco Cirillo

The Pomodoro (tomato) Technique: Break down your work into 25 intense minutes, and follow it up with a 5-minute break.

Why We Like It: When you know you are allowed a five-minute break it keeps you focused. If you don’t know when your next break is or you are not one of those people who can focus for multiple consecutive hours – this technique is incredible handy. A good procrastination cutter too!

Alok suggests that we share our knowledge, ideas and interests through our internet searches,  thus access to this information is a window into your stream of thought. This thought information is collected so companies can create targeted advertisements.

Whilst some people, like Alok Bhardwaj, feel this may be an invasion of privacy – others feel that if they have nothing to hide then they do not mind.

What ever your view, it is an interesting topic.

Our question to you is: Do you think this affects young entrepreneurs and/or young business professionals?

feature photo credit: michael.heiss via photopin