Getting to the job interview is in itself the most important step of all you had to prepare, to make your technical and personal skills visible. It is worth improving the curriculum vitae, having a more attractive Linkedin page, getting recommendations from your peers and co-workers. The result of all this work is finally here! The time has come when you have to demonstrate and enhance your skills live. You need to prepare the job interview, as this is where everything is decided.

Your profile can be searched for by the company and the excellent curriculum, but if in the interview you are unable to show your skills and experience, you will hardly be selected.

Let's prepare for the job interview and make a plan so that this first contact goes well with you.

Reading Time: 12 minutes

What you should know about job interviews
The questions you may be asked at the job interview
The gestural expressions that you don't normally notice and that you should avoid in particular in a job interview
How to negotiate the conditions that interest you

What you should know about job interviews

Event of the day

Make the interview the event of the day, not scheduling other events or appointments for an hour before and two hours after what you estimate to be the end of the interview.

Don't run the risk of having an appointment that starts near the end of the job interview. This would cause you stress, it would force you to be constantly looking at your watch, which will be interpreted as a sign of little respect.

In addition, your nervousness and wanting the interview to end as quickly as possible will change your behavior and make you different from what you want to get through.

Punctuality

Punctuality is the first thing you will notice, if you arrive too early or too late.

It will show in practice that you do not plan your activity very well and therefore, if this is an important competence for the company, it is half done so that the rest of the interview will not go well.

The interviewer will think that the interview is not important to you and does not respect the people who awaited you.

Instead, if the interviewers are late, which also indicates a lack of planning, take note and caution your decision. Nobody wants to go to a company that does not give importance to the selection of its staff.

But, also, it is possible that they make this delay a strategy for the interviewee to be nervous.

So when they go into the job interview, watch carefully what they say. If they come up with a good apology, accept it and say that you assume that, with the avalanche of work that always occurs in this recruitment phase, you have planned your visit carefully enough not to have scheduling conflicts with anyone else. Show here that you are a good planner of your work and that you respect others.

That´s why preparing for the job interview is crucial and small details can make a difference.

Thus, from your part there is no problem and you can be comfortable, not feeling pressured and to carry out the interview in a calm way.

Show confidence in the job interview

But if you're late, find a good excuse. The usual lame excuses, that there was a lot of traffic, or that you had difficulty finding the place are not worth it.

When preparing for the interview, care must be taken to give extra time for unforeseen difficulties.

It is also not good to arrive very early and stay at the reception waiting for your time.

Plan to arrive early, go for a coffee and relax.

Aim to arrive three minutes early at the reception, take the opportunity to go to the bathroom, check on yourself, get your hair done, wash your hands so you don't get sweaty if it's summer, or cold if it's winter.

While waiting, take several deep breaths and relax.

And don't forget to turn off your smartphone.

The questions you may be asked at the job interview

There is no such thing as a "check list" with the questions that interviewers can ask.

But there are some, easy to predict, that can be done.

Think of the questions that you may be asked, even some that may be difficult to answer, but prepare the answers.

Whether made or not, it is better prepared and, therefore, more comfortable to give a good quality answer.

Reasons that led you to apply for this role?

Do not go here to say that you think the role is very cute and that you would like to occupy it.

If you are doing a job interview and someone tells you this, what do you think of this candidate? Would you recruit him without hesitation? Or would you think that the candidate is not mature enough for the job he is applying for?

Instead, connect the skills you have, technical and behavioral and tell us why you can be a great success in this role.

If you have the possibility, highlight objectives that you have fulfilled and that will be interesting for the function or, if you do not have that possibility, show letters of recommendation that certify these skills.

What are the reasons why you think we should recruit you?

Here, you have to demonstrate that you know the business of the company you are applying for.

We have to investigate the company, find out what it produces and other details, to prepare the job interview.

It can be by consulting the Internet and see if there are any comments about the company.

You can use the platform LinkedIn, either in relation to companies, or through the people who work in this company.

See the website content, if any.

Obtaining information on turnover and economic and financial data, depends on whether you want to spend any money, consulting companies specialized in providing this type of information. Racius and eInforma have information for 3 euros or even free if you register.

A teamlyzer it can also be an alternative source, if you are a candidate for a job linked to information technology.

What do you know about our company?

The work that has to be done to prepare the job interview, should allow you to know what the company's business is, how many employees it has, what the mission, the volume of billing, among others.

Knowing the company and the product or service it offers can make your application more interesting for those who interview you.

Still some milestones in your development process, can be more correlated with the company you are applying for and can boost interest.

Even some of your hobbies can bring you closer to the requirements the company is looking for.

What achievements and failures have you had in your career?

Don't say you never had a failure. Think about something you had and how you managed to overcome it.

Achievements are easier to find and easier to say.

Be honest, but try not to make your life a complete failure.

On the contrary, in relation to something that did not go well, demonstrate how you managed to overcome it.

During the job interview, turn a hypothetical defeat into a victory!

Show that you are resilient and do not demoralize when something does not go as you would like.

How do you foresee the evolution of your career?

Not everything is money. Being able to progress and especially to learn is very important.

So, tell us how you would like to evolve in the company in the coming years. Thus, it shows what you want from the company and the company has the opportunity to show if it is the right person for the vacancy they offer.

It is important to have goals that are attainable. Preparing the interview is also to clarify these points for yourself.

Why do you want to leave your current job?

If you say you're going to quit your job, you can put yourself in a difficult negotiating situation.

If you are determined to leave because you don't like the company or something similar, this may give the impression that you have no problem-solving skills and little resilience.

When entering a new company, there will probably be situations that are not pleasant, you will not be able to resist and will leave the company.

In this case, whoever is recruiting him, will consider that it is a waste of time to give him the opportunity to join the company staff, to leave later.

Don't say bad things about the company you work for. It can reveal a negative character and in case of doubt the recruiter does not take any chances.

Alternatively, choose the path that you are always willing to face change if it is for an interesting and challenging cause that adds value to your development.

And, of course, depending on the conditions that are proposed.

Are you in the process of applying to other companies? Were you selected for a job interview?

If you have a Linkedin account, you can take the opportunity to say that through this platform, you are always in contact with possible alternatives for collaboration and that is why you think you know the market conditions and opportunities in various types of function.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

From the point of view of technical skills you can tell what things you have a lot of experience with. Underline the part that is favorable to you.

Anyway, we all have points that need improvement. Don't call it weaknesses.

If, during the job interview, the interviewers say so, it is because they are not very friendly, or are doing it on purpose to try to humiliate you.

Say one or two things you are trying to improve and how you are doing it.

They can be courses or seminars you are attending or enrolled in.

It can be an e-learning course or something similar and that eventually even give you a certification that you would like to add to the curriculum.

As for personal skills, emphasize the skills that are most relevant and in relation to which there can be improvement, saying what you do to minimize them.

For example, if some people think they have communication difficulties, they say that they overcome this issue, with more frequent monitoring of the work and that this is even largely compensated, because it creates greater empathy with the group.

Anyway, it is an example, but it must be true and, if possible, demonstrable.

The soft skills of candidates are crucial in recruitment today.

What kind of people do you like to work with most and who do you like least?

It is a difficult issue that can even be discriminatory.

It is good to be able to work with everyone and to be able to adapt to people with different personalities.

Do you prefer to work as a team or individually?

It depends on the job you are applying for.

Let's admit that you like working alone and don't like working in a group. If the position you are applying for is to work in a group, then don't waste time and don't apply.

How would you feel if you were in a leadership role?

Whether or not you are comfortable is a question to think about. To lead is not to be a boss. It is being able to listen to people and, more than creating consensus, it is making decisions.

What kind of schedules do you prefer? Do you have any limitations?

You have to consider the limitations you have and how you can be flexible if there is a change in schedule.

If you went through the confinement period and had to work remotely, you have a very particular experience that you can share and highlight, if it was positive, despite all the difficulties you had to overcome.

The gestural expressions that you don't normally notice and that you should avoid in particular in a job interview

You have to be particularly careful with some gestures that are often used by you and that can give a sign of nervousness and little confidence in yourself, during the job interview.

These are small signs that can put the result of the interview at risk.

For example, being very static or on the contrary always moving your legs and arms.

Biting your nails or “taking monkeys out of your nose” is not even worth mentioning. It is interpreted as bad manners and little respect for interviewers.

Always shaking your legs, scratching your ears, moving your hands, pulling your hair, these are signs and tics that you must fight.

How to negotiate the conditions that interest you

How much do you want to earn? Give me a number!

It is at this stage of the interview that we are clearly in a negotiation process in which one party, the recruiter, uses its power to intimidate the other party.

Don't be intimidated. It is part of the job interview and the negotiation process.

Opt for a relatively evasive attitude, but do not reveal insecurity.

The conditions are not only the salary

Say that there may be conditions in the company that may involve many more variables than the salary and therefore you cannot come up with a value, because you do not know the rules of the company.

If your skills and competences are adjusted to what the company needs, rest assured that the company will not fail to give you a fair remuneration.

The remuneration and conditions you have are not relevant in relation to the experience and work skills that you can give to the company.

Counter-proposal

If you are offered a proposal lower than your initial idea, then say that you were in fact expecting a proposal of a higher value.

If the proposal is far from what you expect, say less than 10%, say that, with these values, it is not possible to reach an agreement and try to end the session and stay there.

If it is lower, but in a range of about 5% (which is acceptable for you) then suggest a range of values between a minimum and a maximum, but starting at a minimum with 10% more than the proposal you submitted.

If negotiations continue, then the bases are already in place to reach an agreement.

Prepare for job interview with market research

You should first do a search of the values that are practiced in the market, eventually if you have the company's accounts you can try to understand what the remunerations are practiced there.

Another possibility is through Linkedin, Michael Page or Mercer studies that some employers use. Try to find someone who has access to this type of information.

Finally, if the potential employer, in negotiation difficulties, tells you that he will contact previous employers to confirm the data or wages, a situation unthinkable to happen, but if it happens revealing little respect for you, putting your word in question. Think carefully if you want this job.

Always keep in mind:

Believing + Assertive Attitude = Development

Preparing the Job Interview

Table of Contents