Interviewing for Your Dream Job

You have finally secured an interview for your dream job. How can you make the verybest impression and give yourself the very best chance at getting an offer?

1.     Learn as much as you can about the company. Use the internet to find out about the industry, the company products/services and how it is organized. Beyond that, can you discover anything about the

§  Person interviewing you…their role, their function, their style?

§  Company culture and the team you might join?

2.     The first few moments are critical. Plan to arrive a bit early so you appear unruffled and can gather your thoughts. Establish eye contact and greet your interviewer with confidence. Pace yourself so you don’t talk too quickly or pointlessly.

3.     Fill your tool box with stories that will illustrate your capabilities. Be prepared to talk about the core competencies that are part of the job profile. Is your interviewer looking for examples of leadership behavior, teamwork, initiative? Be ready.

Do not waste your chance—prepare and practice for the interview of your life.

Interviewers Need to Sell Too

Candidates are not the only ones who need to do some selling during the job interview.

They, of course, are trying their best to impress the interviewer and sell themselves. But, if you are the interviewer working with a very desirablecandidate, you can be sure other companies are also hoping to sign them up. You need to be able to sell your organization as the best of all their other options.

In other words, curtail the time you spend questioning the applicant’s credentials and experience. Instead devote a good chunk of the conversation to why you think your company would be a good fit. Just as you would qualify a sales opportunity before devoting too much time and energy to a lost cause, find out early on if the applicant is serious about the opening you have. Are they really interested? Are they likely to accept an offer? What would it take?

Ask these questions so you know whether to cross a candidate off the list or court them even more seriously.