Job Interview

Location: On the Internet.

Prerequisites: The motivation to learn.

Required Text: None.

Objectives: Prepare yourself before that big interview.

Properly preparing for an interview is a key factor in determining whether you get a job offer. Overlooking this important step is a big mistake that could lose you a potential job. You need more than just the qualifications for the position to get an offer. You also need good interviewing skills, and practice and preparation can help you develop these skills.

There are several steps in preparing for an interview. They include learning about both yourself and the company. As you begin the interview process, you need to take a good look at your own skills and qualifications and how those have changed since you last went on an interview. Self-assessment is one of the first steps in the job-seeking process. You need to evaluate your current skills, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and goals. You also need to look at any recent accomplishments or recognitions. Even when you’re not looking for a new job, it’s a good idea to keep an ongoing log of any awards, positive evaluations, or letters of commendation. Then you’ll have them ready when you need them.

You also need to update your resume. If you’ve been keeping track of your accomplishments, this will be easy. Think of your resume as a description of your achievements rather than a list of job responsibilities. You want to tailor your resume so that it outlines the most relevant parts of your experience to the job you’re seeking. Flush out any out-of-date or irrelevant sections. Make sure it focuses on the parts of your experience that illustrate what you can do for a particular employer. Also make sure it’s free of typos or other errors.

Once you’ve reevaluated your own skills and interests and have an interview lined up, it’s time to focus your efforts on the potential employer. If you want to be prepared for an interview, you must do your homework on the company. Learn as much about the organization as you can. Visit the company’s website and the websites of its competitors. Go to the library or a bookstore to review any books, journals, magazines, or other resources that contain information on the company. Investor websites can also give you information about current events dealing with the company and the industry.

Research your alumni network to find out whether any alumni currently work for the company. Recent graduates can tell you about the interview process and their experiences in the first few months on the job. Older alumni can tell you about the corporate culture and career paths. Any alumni at the company can provide great connections and insights.

Finally, review your resume. Make sure you know exactly what’s on it, and think about specific elements of your work history that might be important to this employer. Prepare yourself to highlight the parts of your resume that will emphasize your qualifications for this job. The more prepared you are for the interview, the better your chances for success. You want your preparation to be an asset to your candidacy for the job, rather than your lack of it being the mistake that keeps you from getting the job offer.