The job interview
The selection process, as well as the series of interviews, can be transformed into a seduction game. Besides the specific knowledges that you can offer to that job and the gained experience in other organizations, there is a relationship between the person that interviews, and the candidate, that should be equilibrated, precise and seductive at the same time.
The candidate must show his/her qualities to the interviewer, somebody that is looking for an indicate profile for the post. Previously, an updated CV was elaborated, its information was put into web searchers and data basis of companies, several contacts were moved, a work position was opened and now ¡you are there! What should you do?
The group interviews, at assessment centers, are in trend with the intention to get younger professionals. Those kind of interviews let us know the capacities of each candidate in a quick way. There is a coordinator that controls the case or the problem to solve and each candidate can give an opinion. It is important to know that the solution of the case is not important here, because the selection team will be concentrated in the development of each person in the group, the role adopted, the capacity of leadership, besides the strategy thought to solve the problem.
Some helpful secrets to be considered are these:
- Find a good use to the available time
- Participate and let others do the same
- Prepare a personal presentation to save time
- Be coherent in your answers, don’t follow the others just for the sake of it
- Include people that are not participating
In the case of individual interviews it is necessary to look for the compatible profile for the offered post. It is important to research about the company before going to the interview, you can do it by Internet or asking some friends that have worked there.
Your clothes must be adequate to the post, there always exists standard clothing for any situation. The first thing that will be evaluated is punctuality; if you arrive early you can be more relaxed. Normally, the questioning begins with your working history; the CV follows, in the weak and the strong points of it. This is something you should thing about before the interview, besides the relation between the abilities that you can give to the project, and the abilities that the company is looking for that post.
At the end of the interview it is normal to be asked: “Do you have any questions?”, and is a good idea to elaborate something basic to answer that question; something in relation with that company or about the selection process. It is advisable not to ask about the salary in the first interview, and leave it for the next interview.
If you want to take the interview as an opportunity to learn, a way to be open and find out about new organizations and make contacts, it is always possible to use this interaction space, because you will learn experiences or receive lessons about how to find the perfect post that is waiting for you, in some place of your CV.
Remember: THE INTERVIEW IS JUST ONE STEP MORE, NOTHING ELSE.