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How To Prepare for Your Next Job Interview

To many people, browsing job ads and sending applications seems like the easier part of the job hunting process. While it may take a while before they get a positive response from a hiring manager, it’s the interview that makes people start feeling anxious.

Even if you’re an extroverted person that likes talking about themselves, being interviewed for a job is hardly pleasant, knowing that the future of your career hangs upon every word you say.

The only way to make your next job interview a simpler and less stressful experience is to prepare for it properly. With that in mind, we present you with some of the most practical pieces of advice on how to get ready.

  1. Research the company
  2. Match your qualifications with the job requirements
  3. List your references
  4. Practice for the interview
  5. Pick the right clothes

Research the Company

You need to learn all you can about the company from various sources, such as the official website, social media profiles, and recent articles that you can find on Google. Hiring managers often ask the candidates what they know about the organization to see if they did their research. This shows them that you care enough about the job and what the company is all about.

Throughout your research, you will learn about the company’s culture. This will help you determine whether you’re a good fit and enable you to present yourself as such during the interview.

Match Your Qualifications With the Job Requirements

You should analyze the job ad to determine what the company expects from candidates for the role. This will enable you to match your qualifications with what the job requires. 

Make a list of crucial certifications, relevant experiences, and hard and soft skills, and bring them up during the interview to elaborate on why you’re the perfect candidate for the job. Reciting your qualifications isn’t enough—you need to prepare concrete examples from your previous work experiences. It’s important that you illustrate how you gained particular skills and the way they helped you solve different problems.

List Your References

The hiring manager might ask you to provide your list of references before or after the interview. See if you can get as many professional recommendations as you can that can help you land the job, and make sure that you have a list prepared.

Practice for the Interview

Look up the most common interview questions online and come up with adequate answers to them. You can practice by recording yourself, so that you can hear what you sound like and work on fixing potential issues such as mumbling, verbal tics, etc.

You can take your interview practice to the next level by having a friend ask you the questions. Try practicing in the same format as the actual interview, such as via Zoom, over the phone, or with a few friends imitating a panel.

Pick the Right Clothes

When you decide you’re ready, pick the right clothes so that you don’t have to do it at the last minute. If the company is more traditional, you should dress in business attire. Otherwise, you can choose more casual clothes, as long as you make sure to look neat and tidy for the interview.

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