The First Interview

The first interview might be a screening interview with a member of Human Resources (HR) to assess your suitability to join the company.

In other words it could be a getting-to-know-you type interview.

The thing to keep in mind is that if you attend first interviews with 10 companies you might find yourself facing 10 different types of interviews.

Remember that when you're interviewing, you're being interviewed by people who have their own personality and their own way of doing things.

Companies often have specific ways of doing things that might differ from other companies so be ready for the unexpected when you attend an initial interview.

This interview might only focus on HR-type questions that attempt to determine your career goals, your personality, why you have left one company for another, etc.

Or you might find that the HR interviewer is actually qualified to ask you questions about the specific job you're being considered for. You might be surprised to find out that the HR interviewer knows more about your job or profession than you expected!

The first interview could combine an HR interview with a more hands-on interview with the hiring manager or it could skip the HR portion and go straight to a hands-on interview with the person who is doing the hiring.

The point is that ideally you will find out ahead of time exactly how the interview process is structured so that you can prepare for it and so that you can avoid any unexpected surprises.

The more information you have at your fingertips the better you can prepare yourself for all possible outcomes.

Try to answer all questions concisely and try to gain more information about the company and the job to ensure it's a job you are really interested in pursuing further.

If this is a one-interview process, remember that you only have one interview to state your case and also to ensure that this a job you really want and is a company you really want to work for.

Knowing the interview plan ahead of time will help you properly prepare for the job interview process and not just the first interview, especially if the first interview is the only interview.

Even if the first interview seems kind of routine and you aren't asked any difficult questions that relate specifically to your industry/job/profession, etc do not let your guard slip and not take this interview seriously.

Your goal for this interview is to get to the next step in the process, assuming you're interested in the job and company, of course.

Assuming this job is not part of a one-interview process, next up after this interview is typically the second interview

Go To Second Interview

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