The Interview? Ace it!

The first interview I went to was a complete turn-off. Urrrrrgh. "Tell me about yourself" is a question that you never skip in every interview that you attend. I had no experience at the time. I just responded with my name, religion, and age when this question was posed to me. Then what? The interviewer gave me that look. What else she wanted me to say, I wasn't sure. I lost the will to continue when I realized I had blown it straight from the first question. Despite making it through the interview, I never received a call. So I decided to write this.

I'm going to walk you through exactly what hiring managers are looking for during interviews if you're someone who has been looking for a job for a while and you've been attending interviews but haven't advanced past the first or second round interviews and you're wondering why.

You're left wondering why they didn't choose you for the position even though they enjoyed meeting you, especially if they've been in the recruiting business for some time and assist professionals in obtaining dream job offers. Either way, they never call you back.

The first thing hiring managers look for in an interviewee is their ability to communicate, so if you want to succeed and receive a job offer, pay attention to the following advice. They want to know if you can express your ideas, feelings, stories, and experiences to them in a way that they can understand. What matters most is being able to explain why you are a good fit for the position and what you can offer the employer. Unfortunately, I believe that many job searchers don't take this issue seriously enough.

They believe that all you have to do in an interview is respond to the hiring manager's questions, but you must keep in mind that how you respond, present yourself, and land on the other side is equally important. If you don't examine yourself in greater detail and pay close attention to your speech and voice, you won't be able to tell whether you're a good fit for the position.

The second quality that hiring managers are seeking from you in the interview is your level of energy. Numerous concepts are included in energy. It discusses both your perceived behaviour towards them and your level of physical energy. Are you projecting a positive, personable, friendly energy or are you giving off a tense, anxious, afraid, stressed-out, serious, or mildly depressed vibe? You definitely need to keep that in mind. Despite the fact that you may have had the necessary qualifications on paper, your demeanour made you appear less appealing than an applicant with similar qualifications who was also more approachable, friendly, personable, and communicated well.

You should work on it if you see that you are constantly tight, not simply apprehensive, but that you also seem to be out of your element. To be able to truly be yourself and be approachable and nice at the same time, whether you're going for an interview in person or through a video chat, you should learn how to ground yourself and centre yourself before the interview.

Knowing that you are capable of performing the job is another quality that hiring managers look for in candidates. There's a reason this position is open. You may be the individual who can carry out that function since you have the necessary abilities, a sufficient workload, and the capacity to do so. Therefore, there is a value that has to be brought to this organisation, and it is up to you to demonstrate this value during the interview.

If you don't have much experience—for example, if you just graduated from college, if you've only had a few years of experience, or if the job you're applying for is unrelated to any of the jobs you've held recently—you keep saying things like "I'm not getting hired because I don't have experience." Well, you've already come a long way if they're calling you in for the interview. Your issue is not a lack of experience; rather, it is a lack of ability to sell yourself during the interview, which makes it difficult for you to successfully share your experiences. You haven't been able to show how the knowledge you've learned in school, the abilities and experience you do have, are applicable to the post.

And that's on you!

If a company has invited you for an interview, you must be prepared to speak up and explain how you would wow them and benefit them. Obviously, personality fit is the main consideration in this situation. You should thus bear in mind that there are people who lack the necessary experience yet are still able to land employment. What are they doing differently? I just mentioned it, so join the dots, identify your worth, and then prove it in the interview.

The hiring managers' only requirement of you at the interview is that you demonstrate a genuine desire for the position. Nothing is worse than an applicant who shows up to an interview and makes it plain that he or she is not interested in the position, aside from having bad communication skills, and not having the knowledge, talent, or fit for the job. That is the biggest turnoff there is. Don't go and show up if you don't want to be there.