Preparing for the Interview

Before you begin to think about how you will dress for the interview, or answer questions, you should do your homework. By that I mean gather as much information about the employer as you can. Not only will you appear informed and intelligent, it will also help you make a decision if a job offer is eventually made. Gathering employer information is not always an easy task, especially if the employer is a small private company.

Researching Yourself

In the next section of this article, I will talk about answering questions. You might want to prepare for answering questions by listing some of your attributes. Talk to former co-workers with whom you worked closely. Ask them to list some traits about you that they most admired -- work related, of course. Try to find some faults as well. You won't, obviously, spontaneously tell a prospective employer about these faults, but you may be asked to. One question that sometimes comes up in an interview is "What is something that has been a problem for you at work?" By studying your faults, you will be able to choose one that is somewhat innocuous or could be turned around into a positive.

Practice, Practice, And Then Practice Some More

You want to seem somewhat spontaneous, but you also want to appear self-confident. The way to do that is to rehearse, not exactly what you will say, but how you will say it. A great method is to rehearse in front of a video camera. Study your posture, the way you make eye contact, and your body language. If you don't have a video camera, a mirror will do. Have a friend do mock interviews with you. The more you repeat a scenario, the more comfortable you will begin to feel with it.