5 Strategies For Nailing Your Next Interview

It doesn’t matter how many interviews you’ve attended throughout your career, when you’re given the opportunity to interview for a role you really want, your nerves can creep up on you.

After all, there is a lot to think about if you hope to impress the hiring manager and stand out from your competitors, you need to cover a lot of bases.

So, as with everything in life, preparation is going to be key.

So, here are five crucial interview strategies you can employ to help you prepare for the big day.

Review and research

One of the most important things you can do before any interview is to make sure that you are as informed as possible. This starts by reviewing the job description again and getting to know the position inside and out.

This not only shows your interest in the role, but it can also help to shape the questions that you ask later on in the interview.

Not only this, but it is important to do some research before the interview to ensure you know as much about the company and the people you’re meeting as possible.

Again, this will show your genuine interest in the position but it will also give you some talking points and help you to build rapport with those who are interviewing you.

So before you attend, make sure you have reviewed the job description and any other literature provided, as well as conducted some thorough online research to ensure you’re as informed as possible.

Master responses to tougher questions

Throughout your career, you’ve probably heard all the classic interview questions. But as you begin to take on more senior positions, the questions are likely to get tougher. After all, employers want to know more about your past achievements and how you can add real value to their company.

For that reason, they might ask increasingly tricky and unique questions, such as scenario-based questions that prompt you to give real-world examples or to come up with hypothetical strategies you could implement in the future.

With that in mind, it is important that you master your responses to these tougher interview questions and that you prepare for them to throw you a curveball.

You can start by researching some of the more tricky and unique interview questions employers may ask. You should also prepare some examples of your past experiences and achievements, but we’ll look at this in more detail next.

There’s a lot to think about if you hope to impress and stand out in your interview.

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Prepare examples of your top achievements

During the interview, one of the most important things that the recruiter wants to uncover is whether you’re a good fit for the role and how you can add value to the company. Because of this, they will expect you to share details of the biggest and most impressive achievements from your career.

At the review and research stage, you should take a look at the key soft and hard skills and qualities the employer is looking for so you can then generate some great examples based on this. It’s also important that you can back up your achievements with facts and figures wherever possible.

Next, it’s a good idea to practice the art of storytelling. Sure, at this point in your career, you probably have lots of great anecdotes and things to talk about, but if you are unable to tell a coherent and engaging story these can quickly fall flat no matter how impressive.

Project confidence and expertise

During the interview, you need to make sure that you come across as calm, confident, and an expert in your field at all times. But as we said earlier, when you really want the job, interviews can be quite nerve-wracking even when you’re a seasoned professional.

Despite this, it’s crucial that you don’t let your nerves get the better of you or damage your chances of landing the role. So, before you go, be sure to prepare as much as possible. To do this you can practice speaking slowly and clearly to help you sound confident and knowledgeable.

Ask the right questions

The final strategy is to ensure that you ask the right questions.

By now you’ll be aware that the interview process is not a one-way street. Though the interviewer will ask most of the questions, they will also expect you to have some of your own.

It’s likely that questions will pop into your mind during the interview as you are given more information. However, it always pays to prepare a few questions beforehand so you can make sure you’re asking the right things and getting all the right information before you potentially accept the job.

If you follow these tips and implement the five strategies, you can excel during interviews and make a lasting impression; helping you to land your dream role.