a job interview

A job interview is held with many objectives in mind. For the most part it just depends on which party you ask the question “why a job interview”

Some of the objectives of a job interview include:

• Finding out the most suitable candidate for the job
• Giving a candidate sufficient information about the job and the company so that they can decide whether the job will suit them
• Creating a sense of confidence and understanding in the selected candidate
• Promoting the good will of the company by giving the right kind of impression to all the candidates whether or not they are to be selected.

Obviously without proper preparation from both candidates the realization of these objectives becomes difficult.

In this post let’s focus on the candidate

What do you need to know before a job interview?

As a candidate you should prepare yourself along the following lines;

1. KNOW YOURSELF

This is probably the most important thing you need to start with if you are going to have any chance in that interview as a candidate.

For the most part candidates just focus on the papers they have and assume that is pretty much all that the interviewer is going to be interested in. knowing yourself cuts deeper than that.

Try and find out what you can to achieve through your work, things like, inner fulfillment, fame position in society, wealth, security, comfort, travel, power.

The idea is, before you go applying for a job, leave alone attending an interview, you should be knowing why you are applying for it and whether it will actually suit you.

2. KNOW THE COMPANY

The next important thing to know before attending an interview is the company. Am not talking about the general perception of the company in the sense that “it’s a nice place to work and the pay is good” not that!

You should try and find out as much as you can about the company’s activities, its growth over the years, its future prospects etc

You see if you show that your sincere interest in the company and show that you have acquired knowledge about it on your own initiative, you will create a favorable impression on your interviewer.

3. PREPARE FOR THE QUESTION  

Logic dictates that you anticipate the questions you will probably be asked and prepare answers to them.

This should not be a difficult task since once you take out the common interview questions, you end up being asked about your interests, hobbies, achievements, prospects etc.

Try to be clear in your mind about the answers you intend to give.

4. PREPARE THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK

Most people assume that if you go for a job interview then your duty is to answer questions and nothing more. This is not entirely honest. How would you know if you actually want to work there if you do not seek clarifications to the doubts or questions you have?

If the interviewer does not offer you full information about the company and the job, you must ask questions to gain this information. These questions might relate to formal or informal training, promotional avenues, fringe benefits etc.

Suggested: Top 5 skills demanded by employers

Conclusion 

Interviews should not be one sided in fact, they suggest a meeting between two persons for the purpose of getting a view of each other. The employer wants to know if they can employ the candidate and the candidate wants to know if this is where they want to be. So do not make it one sided.