Interviews can be stressful and cause some anxiety and panic. Everyone has gone through them as part of their working life and each one of us will at some point has to face one. Preparation is the only way to beat the anxiety and panic, and thus feel more calm and confident.
Many people (including me) get anxious when they start fear the unknown. I also hate whatever I can't control. For this reason, preparing for your interview will give you more control over the situation and over your feelings and will make the situation a little bit more familiar since you would already have prepared for it.
MY TYPICAL TO DO.... LIST FOR AN INTERVIEW
<> Buy Shoes <> Buy handbag
<> Make photocopies <> Prepare original documents
<> Prepare folder with both copies & original documents
<> Plan hair style <> Plan make up
<> Choose outfit <> Prepare answers
<> Read about the company <> Stay calm
<> Do nails
You might be thinking,,,isn't it better to be spontaneous? And my answer to that would be, sure it is. But when you are feeling nervous being prepared will make it easier to be spontaneous. How can this be so? Simply, because you already know what you want to say since you have prepared your answers, or at least imagined the questions and thought about the best answer for each one. Since you know what you want to say and how to say it, the result will be a better performance with less anxiety. Once you see you are doing well, you will feel confident and you will be more spontaneous.
COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Whatever interview you might be having these are the most common questions:
- Tell me about yourself.....
- What are your strengths/weaknesses?.....
- Why do you want to work here?.......
- What do you expect from this job?......
- How do you think your previous experience can help you in this position?......
- What are your short term and long term goals?......
- What has been your greatest accomplishment?......
- Have you had other interviews and job offers?......
- What are your salary expectations?......
- Do you have any questions for me?.......
HOW I WOULD ANSWER THE ABOVE......
- I am 25 years old. I was born in Italy but I have been living in Malta for 10 years. As you probably read on my CV I am management graduate. I have a Bachelor of Commerce degree....with Honours in management.......In order to make you understand better who I am , I can say that I am a combination of perfectionism and creativity. On one side I am very precise, do a lot of planning and organizing, time management, task allocation, controlling. On the other side I am very creative and I express my creativity in my daily life though my interests such as fashion, beauty, arts in general, cooking, photography, writing.......I believe this combination of precision and creativity makes me suitable for many job positions especially clerical, administrative and managerial ones. I also like to learn and challenge myself with new things. I never say I can't. I will look about it, ask about it and try until I can do it. I can work as part of a team, on my own and I can also manage staff.....
- My strengths are my precision and perfectionism; I am very organized; my ability to manage time and prioritize; I am a quick learner; I am friendly; my creativity makes me come up with very good ideas; I like to work hard to obtain the best possible result; I am very good with computers; I am very good with languages........My main weakness is my lack of work experience.
- I would like to work here because I like this position. I believe I can be beneficial to the company with my qualifications and skills. And in return I would get the opportunity to learn new things, acquire new skills and especially gain the experience I lack. I have read about the company. I am interested in what it does and I believe it is a serious company which is very important for me since I want to work for a company which has a good reputation and has at heart the interests of its customers and the whole community.
- As I already said, from this job I expect to gain the experience I don' have and learn new things.
- Although I lack work experience, I am sure the experience gained during my university course can be useful in this position. And I am more than willing to learn whatever I might need to.
- My short term goals are to gain work experience and acquire new skills while making new acquaintances. My long term goals are to grow in my career, write a book and open a business.
- My greatest accomplishment so far was getting my degree. Since I was a little kid I dreamed about coming to finish my studies in Malta. And I can say I have managed to do that. I moved from Italy, I studied hard to get all the qualifications needed to enter university, I chose a course and I finished it with the best possible results.....
- I would say yes without giving too much information. You can also mention the offers you are considering so if they want you to work for them they will offer you something better not to lose you....
- Think about the salary you would like in advance. Don't set it too low (or you might risk not being able to get more) but neither too high (as you might risk losing the opportunity to get the job).....
- You should ask about the main tasks the chosen candidate will be involved in, the working location, working hours, company's policies you might be interested in, any chances to grow and get promoted. Don't talk about the wage on the first interview unless they ask you about it......
WHAT TO WEAR TO AN INTERVIEW.......
And if you are feeling anxious......
- Start preparing in advance not to be late and feel even more nervous.
- Read a chapter of a good book just before to forget your worries.
- Think this way....If you have the qualifications and know you can do the job you have nothing to fear. You should be confident about who you are. If they don't offer you the job they are the one to lose. You will get the opportunity to find something better.....It will be an extra experience for you.
Stay FAB.
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