Toast the New Year With a GREAT Job Interview

Raise your glass and nibble on marinated mushrooms or meatballs, but don’t let the good times distract you from your primary goal for the New Year—landing a fabulous interview for the job you’ve dreamed about.

After the party is over, the guests are gone, and the streamers pulled down, take a few private moments to ask yourself some timely questions.

 

 

 

 

 

1. What job do I want more than any other?
2. What company do I want to join?
3. What am I most qualified to do based on my education, training, and talent?
4. What can I bring to the job that will enhance the entire operation?
5. What am I looking for in the company I choose and the people I’ll work with?

A Great Interview Starts NOW

Don’t wait until the night before you walk into the interview room to think about what to say and how to say it. Begin practicing as soon as possible.

• List questions you are likely to be asked. If you’re stumped think about what you would ask if you were conducting the interview.
• Practice answering the questions in front of a mirror.
• Rehearse with a friend or family member to get feedback from a live person.
• Tape record your answers and listen for stumbling, long pauses, speech fillers such as ‘you know,’ ‘ah,’ and ‘um.’

Hiring managers today are more astute and attentive than they were even a few years ago. During this tough economy, they can’t afford to waste time on someone who is unprepared and unprofessional. If you don’t qualify, there will be men and women right behind you who are.

Make sure you’re at the top of your game. Show your dependability by arriving on time, even early. Dress professionally, speak up, shake hands, smile, hold eye contact, and answer questions clearly and with confidence.

Display your integrity, trustworthiness, and kindness by providing specific examples of your experience in the workplace—even times when you messed up. Honesty is still the best policy. So don’t be shy about revealing your true self, the kind of person who will get the job done as well as come alongside co-workers to solve problems and cast a vision for the future.

Give Up Fear for the New Year

• Create New Year’s resolutions that affirm your power and presence in the workplace.

 

• Become your own best friend and speak words of encouragement each time you look in the mirror. “You can handle problems in a calm and cool manner.” “People look to you for solutions.” “You’re a valuable employee.” “You make a contribution to the company each and every day.”

 

• Next, jot down a few experiences that back up these statements. When a hiring manager asks for an example of your leadership or work performance, you’ll have one on the spot. What motivated you to step in and resolve a conflict between two co-workers? How did you handle an emergency when your superior was out of the office? What innovations have you suggested to management and how did they play out?

 

• Then, visualize yourself performing the tasks required of the person who lands the job. This will give you the courage needed to speak up for yourself during an interview. Weave your personal experiences into the conversation as you respond to questions asked.

 

• Finally, check your emotions. If you’re feeling excited and eager, then you’re ready to step into an interview. But if you’re a bit wobbly or conflicted about the position itself, select a different one to respond to, one that matches your emotional level at that time.

Best wishes to you in the New Year. I raise my glass, cheering with you for 2012 to yield the job of your dreams following a sensational interview.

© Written By Jimmy Sweeney

President of CareerJimmy and Author of the new,

Job Interview “Secret”

Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the brand new “Secret Career Document” job landing system. Jimmy is also the author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Job Search Secrets.”

Visit our friends at Job Interview “Secret” and discover Jimmy Sweeney’s breakthrough strategy that will have you standing out from the competition like a Harvard graduate at a local job fair… DURING your next job interview.