Interview Tips That Will Separate YOU From The Pack!

Accurate job interview tips are worth their weight in gold. Sometimes the difference between winning the interview and losing it can be minute, especially if there is significant competition for a job you really want.

The worst thing is when you spend a significant amount of time and effort preparing and then don't get the job. Worse, often you don't really find out exactly why you didn't get the job.

Did someone perform better in the interview than you?

Was another job candidate simply better than you?

Did you make a big mistake(s) that you didn't realize?

How would you know?

Here are some interview tips and advice that you can use to your advantage.

Interview Tip 1: Research the company and the job well in advance of the interview. Don't try to "wing it" and don't wait until the night before the interview to prepare.

Interview Tip 2: Anticipate the questions you might be asked and plan your answers. While you can't predict every question you will be asked, you can certainly anticipate questions that are generally asked in your industry or in your profession. Make sure you know the answers and make sure you know your facts beforehand.

Interview Tip 3: Do your best to find out as much about the interview process as possible well in advance of the interview so there are no surprises: how many people will interview you at one time, what are their names and job titles, how long is the interview, how long is the interview process, etc.

Interview Tip 4: Be careful of personal information that you choose to divulge during the interview. While it might be illegal for an interviewer to ask you certain questions, it isn't illegal for them to take your answers into consideration if you voluntarily give up information that you shouldn't! See Interview Tip 5. I've seen candidates lose out on jobs because they offered up information they shouldn't have.

Interview Tip 5: Be prepared to handle unethical questions in case they come up. While it can differ by country, generally speaking it is illegal to ask questions about gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability. A fair and ethical interviewer should stay away from asking questions like this. If you are a woman they should not ask you about your desire to have children but if they do, you need to be prepared to answer this question and other unethical ones.

Interview Tip 6: Think of relevant skills or experience that could separate you from other candidates for the job if you feel it will help to distinguish you ie. a second language, international experience, special training or education, etc. Depending on the job you are applying for or the company you are applying to, there might be something special in your background that although not on the job description, might be valuable to mention during an interview.

Interview Tip 7: Be prepared to answer stress questions. It is not uncommon for an interviewer to ask mathematical questions or riddles or to pose hypothetical questions to gauge your ability to think on your feet and to react in a stressful situation. A classic stress question is when the interviewer hands you a pen or pencil and tells you to sell it to them.

Interview Tip 8: Just because someone is paid to interview people, doesn't necessarily mean they know how to do it! Some hiring managers don't know how to interview properly and you'll find this out once the interview starts. Inexperienced interviewers might be more nervous than you during the interview. Typically, if you are asked the old "tell me about yourself" question to start an interview, this is most likely an indication that you aren't dealing with a top-notch interviewer. A skilled interviewer doesn't open with a general question like this that allows you the interviewee to hijack the interview by answering it anyhow they want.

Interview Tip 9: You only have one chance to make a first impression. Don't even think of doing anything that will ruin your chances at a job like chewing gum, not shaving/bathing before an interview, leaving your cellphone on during an interview (or worse, answering it during the interview!) or ignoring any instructions given to you during the interview.

Interview Tip 10: Remember that you are being evaluated from the moment you walk into a building for an interview to the moment you leave the building. The receptionist at the front desk might wield more power than you think as might the security guard you meet on the way out the door. Don't think that hiring managers won't ask these people about your interaction with them to find out how you treat other people.

Interview Tip 11: Dress for success. Your dress style is certainly somewhat dependent on your industry and level of position but you really can't go wrong with wearing business attire. It's better to overdress than underdress. A business suit whether you're male or female is best for office/professional positions.

Interview Tip 12: During the interview process, the company is assessing you but you should be assessing them, too. Remember when we spoke about the best time to look for a job is when you are happily working? The less desperate you are to find a new job, the more likely you will be able to look at a new job with both eyes open and not take a less-than-ideal job because you need to escape your current employer. Don't find out after you've started a new job that you have left a good job for a bad one. Leaving a bad situation for another bad one isn't much better. Ask the right questions to help you determine if this is the right job and company to move to.

Interview Tip 13: The interview is where jobs tend to be won and lost. The job search process is just that: a process. Each part of the job search process has a purpose and it all begins with your cover letter and resume. The goal of your cover letter and resume is to get an interview. The cover letter should cause the hiring manager to want to read your resume and this combination should cause them to want to interview you. Interviews are used to assess your suitability in terms of both your skills/experience and your personality for the job in question. At this point, you are competing with other candidates to show the hiring manager why you are better suited to the position than they are.

Interview Tip 14: Show the interviewer you are interested in the job. Showing a hiring manager or a recruiter that you are mainly money-motivated is the best way to ruin your chances at a job. It's best to wait until they bring up the issue of money rather than bringing it up yourself since it tends to indicate that you are money-motivated rather than opportunity motivated.

Interview Tip 15: Trust your gut. If you feel uncomfortable during the interview or don't feel good about something related to the company, the interviewer or the job, try to alleviate your concern(s) by asking the right questions. If you can't get the answer you're looking for, this might be a sign of something you'd have to face everyday should you accept the job.

Interview Tip 16: Always remain positive during the interview even if things aren't going as well as you'd hoped. In school, did you ever write a test that you were sure you'd failed, only to find out you passed easily? You never know, you might be doing better in the interview than you think and you don't want to give up.

Interview Tip 17: Try to leave the interviewer with at least one thing about you that might be unique from other candidates that would be valuable to the company if they hired you. Once they've interviewed several people with similar backgrounds, they will tend to look for reasons to hire one person over the others or they might try to eliminate candidates who don't meet certain criteria.

Interview Tip 18: If during an interview you realize that the position is not of interest to you, complete the interview and answer the questions as you would if you were interested in the job. I've seen situations where the candidate wasn't good for the job they were interviewing for but the hiring manager referred them to another hiring manager in the company for a different position that they ended up receiving. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen.

Interview Tip 19: Don't speak negatively about your former or current employer or divulge confidential information that you shouldn't. I have seen people lose out on jobs by criticizing former employers or by mentioning things about their current employer that they shouldn't have.

Interview Tip 20: Don't forgot to listen during the interview! Sure, you are there to answer questions but don't forget to listen. Listen to the questions you are asked, listen to the answers to the questions you ask and also listen to comments that the interviewer makes that might help to shed more light on the job, the company, and your interest in both.

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