You have spent time writing a winning resume and applying for jobs, now it is time for the final stage, the job interview. They can be nerve-wracking and there are many traps that candidates fall into during the process.
However, correctly preparing for a job interview can significantly improve your chances of success. If you can anticipate which questions will be asked, you will not be caught out by surprise questions and be able to give considered answers.
It is vital to understand the importance of the resume in the interview. Knowing how to prepare for your first job interview by using the job description and your professional resume, can improve your performance in the interview.
By this stage you should have already produced an attractive, professional-looking resume. If not, use a resume builder to make sure it is up-to-scratch.
Research the company
Doing some homework on the company is essential. Go onto the company’s website and find out as much as you possibly can about them before the first interview. If you appear not to know anything about the company it will seem like you’re uninterested in the job.
Definitely don’t rely just on the company website research though. Look them up online – read articles about them or written by them, watch YouTube videos about the company made by third parties or videos of the company’s executives. Check out their social media profiles – what message are they trying to put forth? What are they posting and tweeting? Can your experience be relevant to one of their current initiatives?
Researching the company ahead of time will help you target your answers to fit what the employer is looking for, it will also help you to ask some insightful questions in the latter stages of the interview.
Prepare answers for resume based interview questions
First of all, make sure you know your resume backwards. Familiarize yourself with every detail including job titles, dates, and responsibilities. If you get these details mixed up in the interview it will give the wrong impression.
Secondly, the trick is to imagine you are the employer looking at your resume. Often employers follow the resume in a job interview or prepare the interview using the resume.
What questions would you ask? Have you got any unexplained gaps on your resume? By anticipating the job interview questions it will be easy to prepare answers.
Thinking of a good answer to an interview question is easy when you have time and are not under pressure. Try to anticipate as many of the questions as possible to avoid finishing the interview wishing you had answered a question differently.This is a key part of how to prepare for a job interview.
Analyze the job and match your skills
Read carefully through the job posting and identify the required skills, attributes, and work experience. Use the keywords in the text to help you. Then make a comprehensive list of all the qualities required by the employer.
Using your resume, think about your strengths and how they match those wanted by the company. Think of specific, tangible examples when you have demonstrated skills and abilities and prepare yourself to talk about them. Make sure you use STAR format when preparing these examples.
The interviewer will ask you to give examples of when you have shown certain qualities. This preparation technique of using your resume to prepare for a job interview will help you to answer job-specific interview questions.
Practice the job interview using your resume
The main thing you want to avoid is being caught out and having to rack your brains for job interview answers. Review typical job interview questions and spend time practicing answering them. Follow our top job interview tips to make sure you are fully prepared.
Think about how to answer job interview questions about your resume and focus on your strengths. It is important to practice actually speaking your answers too. This will help you to give more concise answers in the actual interview and it will give you confidence.
Ask someone you know to give you a mock job interview using your resume and the list of questions you have prepared. If it is a phone interview, do it over the phone or if it is a video interview, do it via Zoom or Google Hangouts to practice.
