I have only been interviewed for jobs twice in my life. And both were remarkable! My third job, the best I’ve had required no interview because someone who knew my capacity mentioned me.

Here’s my first interviewers’ remark: ‘You are different from the others.’

Here’s my second interviewers’ remark: ‘You’re a smart young man, I look forward to seeing you around.’

When the man who hired me for my third job saw me, he simply asked, ‘Are you the person they spoke so highly about?’

When I left my first job, they said I was the best they ever had. I did not take the second job because the salary wasn’t attractive. And my third job? My performance dazzled my employer.

There are no jobs out there. Not really, there are limited jobs and interviews aren’t always easy.

But, why should anyone hire you?

It’s certainly not because you went to school or because of your credentials. The interviewers simply want to measure your knowledge about their company, plus how you can help cut their cost and increase their profit. That explains why you’d always be asked what you have to offer and why you should be hired.

If you cannot impress the interviewers, there’s no way you’d get the job. And that has always placed me on the cutting edge. In this article, I’d share my secret with you.

Getting an invitation is not a guarantee to securing the job. You don’t want to discover afterwards that you could not land the job due to some avoidable missteps.

The key to winning your interviewers and landing the job is preparation! That’s the only reason I could get those remarks.

So here we go, let’s get you prepared for that interview you are so happy about, good to know you have the right skills and experience to match the job, but that is not just enough – what else? Well, pay good attention to these sets of interview rules, and you could be the next person to be hired:

1.     Get Information: One major thing you must do in advance is to get valid and responsible information about the company.  You don’t want to get there only to ask the Panelists “what does the company deal on?” So, you must learn all you can about the organization; it shows you are not just interested in the safety the job may offer or where the job is coming from; but by good researching about the company, you have shown initiative and commitment.

2.     Show Interest: Showing interest goes beyond appearing for the interview, it even goes beyond providing answers to questions asked; it shows your level of curiosity by asking relevant questions after the interview. Don’t just sit, listen to them and after answering their questions, you take your leave. Be enthusiastic and convincing in your answers. Interviewers look for various unexpressed qualities in a candidate during interview sessions.

3.     Be Confident: Most interviewers make their decision to hire an interviewee within the first two seconds, even before they ask the first question; now how does it work? Well, simple – you are what you represent and what you represent is a combination of both verbal and non-verbal communication style. Now let’s break it down – non-verbal communication includes your dressing, you must dress neat and simple, also ensure you walk tall and briskly, be courteous, when you shake hands, let it be firm and don’t sit while you have not been told to do so. Do not cross your legs while sitting and do not fidget.

4.     Keep Your Manners: Ugly scenes abound where someone excuses himself just to pick up a call during an interview session. I bet he will never get the job, despite he was qualified for the job. Being offline that period, would not bring the world to a standstill, kindly switch off your phone before entering the venue and ensure you have all required materials needed.

5.     Be Early: It will save you a good deal of embarrassment when you keep to time. You don’t want to give them an impression that you are not organized and dependable. It is always advised you arrive the venue at least 30mins before the stipulated time, being early gives you the opportunity to relax and do some check up and keep yourself abreast of any latest information that would aid you during the interview.

6.     Show Courtesy: Be polite and courteous to everyone you come in contact with because you never can tell who might be the interviewer; a boy went for an interview and on getting to the venue he saw a car drove in and a young lady came out with some bags and called out politely to him for help, the boy just looked at her and walked away, unfortunately, the young lady happened to be the HR Manager to vet the candidates during and after interviews- what happened to the guy when he eventually found out? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Be humble and polite; drop your ego and forget your grades, don’t be rude.

7.     Show Preparation: When answering questions, don’t just oscillate between “Yes” or “No” as your answers. Remember this is an opportunity to market yourself, even though you are to keep it tailored to the question, don’t delve out of what you are asked and don’t bore your listeners with irrelevant answers. Give lucid and relevant examples to back up your answers. However, let your examples show your area of strength and how you were able to effectively manage a situation to your credit

8.     Dress With A Message: Your dressing can give you out or market you. It all boils down to dressing appropriately during interviews. Casual wears and appearance are not meant for such formal engagement and as such should not be worn. Look clean and smart, and be mindful of the colour combinations too. It is even advised that you align your dressing to the colour of the organization. A good dress sense makes you more confident, maybe I should quickly add this; keep your body spray and perfume light or even out of use for that day. You would not want to choke your interviewer.

9.     Be complete: Try to have additional copies of your CV, which will guide you in answering questions. You might be asked to submit an extra copy and while doing that, ensure you send a thank you note after the interview. It might go a better way to warm yourself into the panelist’s heart.

Becoming the best is a strong measure of concerted efforts geared towards the desired goal. You can be best in clinching that dream. When you pay close attention to the nuggets of the nine steps above. Congrats!  

Tell your story: Share your interview experience. Inspire others with your story.

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