Preparation is always important, but more so when it comes to interviews. Preparation is particularly important because with interviews, there are already too many variables you cannot control, so you need to control what you can. Interviewees don’t decide how interviews go, you can only answer the question asked to you
This means you need to be prepared for a wide variety of questions. At Inside Success, we equip youths with tips and guides on how to navigate the workplace. So here’s a guide on how to prepare for an interview.
1. Examine the job description (JD) carefully
This should go without saying. The JD tells you everything that’d be required of you in that role. This is the time to know how the company is thinking about the role. From here, you can tell if they have unrealistic expectations or not.
The tasks expected of you will likely come up during the interview, so have examples, where possible, of times in the past you have carried out such tasks.
2. Consider the qualifications and why you want the job
These questions come up in interviews, and not usually in clear terms. Already knowing why you want the job and how your qualifications fit in means you have answers to some of the trickiest questions that’d be thrown at you.
The question of why you want the job is also a good one to always prepare for. “Because I’m broke and I need a job” is obviously not an answer. It’s a difficult question if you’ve not thought about it beforehand, so think about it beforehand.
3. Do your research
Research on what? On everything. Everything that can be searched out. Do research on the company, about the job role, about the various salaries that companies pay for the same role. About the job description. If you have a name for the interviewer, do research on them too.
Every information you have about the company, their employees or the job role can only be beneficial to you. Recruiters are also usually impressed when they see you know something you didn’t have to. It shows commitment.
4. Prepare answers to common interview questions
The reason is obvious. Many interviews are standardized. The number of new things that’d be thrown at you will not be that high. Some recruiters are lazy enough to just conduct the interview from a handbook, and not ask any new questions. Hence, preparing answers to common questions helps a lot.
This is also very easy to do. There are so many articles and guides on commonly asked questions in interviews. This is also where you learn how to answer the dreaded “what are your strengths and weaknesses” question.
5. Prepare thoughtful questions for the interviewer
Don’t depend on deriving questions from something the interviewer says, though that will likely be possible. You should still have questions of your own regarding things like company culture, day-to-day operations, house styles (where necessary). You should also ask what success and failure in the role would look like. it’s always good to have questions ahead of time, so that if you don’t get questions from the interview itself, you’d avoid the awkward “I don’t have any questions for you” answer.
Conclusion
There are more things you can do to make yourself as ready as possible, but these five will make you ready for any interview, then you just have to play it by ear. Remember to answer the question asked, as clearly as possible, in as few words as possible. This shows the interviewer that you know what you’re talking about.
Interviews will always be tricky, which is why you don’t want to “wing it”. Winging it is just making sure you have a car crash of an interview. The idea is to account for the knowns (job descriptions, qualifications, why you want the job, commonly asked questions), so that the unknowns will be kept to the minimum. Be ready to think on your feet, as you’re likely to be asked questions you didn’t prepare for.
Take pauses before answering questions. These pauses help you think about the question to make sure you understand it, then answer.
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