10 Interviewing Tips to Get Any Job

There are certain interviewing tips that are going to lead to any job seeker getting the position that they want.  Believe it or not, much of it has to do with going back to the basics.  While we should always strive to continue learning, it is important to brush up on certain factors that are easily forgotten.

With that being said, here are 10 tips to help you ace the interview and get the position that you want.

1. Go into the interview with an end-goal of getting the job offer. That’s all you need to focus on. Many times, when we take a moment to envision success and the rewards it brings, we are a lot more likely to do well.

2. Talk in terms of what the interviewer wants. Too often, we think only about what we want and don’t realize that the best way to get what we want is to meet the needs of the interviewer. Then expect the interviewer to give us what we want, not the other way around.

3. Know where you want to be in 1, 3, and 5 years. To achieve maximum career results, we have to set firm goals and relentlessly pursue them.  Be specific:

In 1 year, I want to be heavily contributing to a company’s bottom line and want to be a stand-out sales representative at a firm that rewards hard work, has a competitive product and is full of intelligent, engaging people.

Within 2 years, I would like to be responsible for mentoring other people in the office and want to be recognized as a leader amongst my peers.

Within 5 years, I would like to be a manager and consistently upgrading those under me and creating a sense of optimism and hard work in my subordinates.

4. Regardless of position, interviewers are going to hire people who are self-confident, optimistic, energetic, passionate and engaging people.

– Come across in the interview as someone who wants to be there. Someone who is confident that they are the right person for the position and as someone who is candid and fully invested in the conversation.

– People want to hire leaders and leaders are described as people who are problem solvers, people who are self-less, people who put the company first, people who want to grow others, are team players and are able to predict everyday hurdles and overcome them.

5. Interviewers are just as prone to feeling badly about rejection as the interviewee is. Show the interviewer that you care and you’re more than 50% there.

6. When giving answers, don’t 2nd guess yourself. Rather, explain things in a thorough, honest and positive manner. It’s the best we can do. We can’t control what an interviewer does, but we can control how we act.

7. Adapt to the interviewer’s style, don’t ever expect an interviewer do adapt to our personality. Some interviewers will just want the answers and that’s what you should give them. Others, will want to have a casual conversation so schoomz with them.

– Never take the way an interviewer conducts an interview personally. Rather, consider it to be their sense of interviewing style and have faith that the interviewer is smart enough to pass you through to the next round.

8. People like to hear their names. It’s like music to our ears. We come across as more assertive and personalized when we address people by their first names.

9. Thank the interviewer for their time.  Too often, we think about how important our time is, but don’t realize that everyone thinks that way.  Always make sure to follow up with an email thanking the person and including notes on some of the takeaways and thoughts you had from the interview.

10. People love sincere compliments.  Find something that you like about the firm.

In the End

Effective interviewing gives you flexibility to negotiate higher salaries, receive more job offers and remain competitive in the market.  While it takes a bit of work, having an understanding of and revisiting the basics are going to set you apart.

Ken Sundheim is the CEO of KAS Sales Recruiting  a sales and marketing recruitment company based out of New York City.