Interviews

When I graduated last year, I went on many interviews.  I was very nervous, but I am very obsessive about things, so I studied very hard for all of my interviews.  I looked up pretty much every interview question imaginable, and I don’t think I was surprised at any of my interviews.  I would consider myself very successful with the interviews I went on also.  I received many job offers and was even able to decline some.

Here are some interview tips:

• Bring extra resume copies with you.  Every time I went to an interview, the person who was interviewing me asked for a hard copy.  You also never know who else might be in the interview room with you.
• Try to figure out the dress code before you go.  If you absolutely have no clue, this can be done by driving to the potential place of employment and just looking very quickly.
• Be polite to the secretary or assistant.  The person who is doing the hiring might ask their assistant what they thought of you.  So if you talked down or were rude to the assistant, this can definitely hurt you.
• Make sure you give a firm handshake.  The person who is hiring you knows whether or not you are fit for the position within the first 5 minutes.  A handshake is very important in this process.
• When answering questions, make sure not to say “umm” or “uuhhh”.  Instead when you’re thinking of your answer, just sit and think quietly to yourself for 3-5 seconds.  This comes off as much more professional.  Reviewing sample practice interview and answers questions online are GREATLY helpful.
• Make sure you ask questions at the end.  Interviewers at the end of the interview will ask you if you have any questions.  If you say that you have none, you might be giving off a vibe that you don’t care about the company or job, or that you didn’t do enough research on the position.
• And of course, be professional.

Any other tips that you might want to offer?  What kind of questions do you think are good to ask at the end?