Own your interview

Be prepared, positive, and awake.
That’s about it if you want to own an interview.

Then, of course, a lot depends on who you have on the other side of the table. Or maybe the screen. So, a dose of flexibility is not wrong. The key is otherwise the word: relevance.

Giving general tips linked to an oasis of possible situations is tricky. But, let’s try.

Remember. If you have managed to come to an interview, you have already achieved something. So, begin by trying to understand how it happened. Apart from that, most things in life are about the obvious. And in this case about being yourself.

Hire for attitude and train for skill.

Regardless of whether it is right according to the recruitment bible, you do not hire people you do not like. So, liking comes into play, no doubt about it. Then unfortunately everyone has a little different taste.

As a human being, you usually like honesty, determination, clarity, and curiosity. Concepts such as trust, drive, communication skills, and questioning. Such personality traits that you show, more than claim. Which the other party gets to feel and experience.

Above is an important key to success in an interview. Not trying to step into someone you are not, forgetting to tell why you are interested in the specific job, or not asking relevant and thoughtful questions.

Trust is created by being able to tell a relevant story. Why you, why interested, how are your experiences and your knowledge relevant?

In an interview, you should preferably try to, without being perceived as cocky, create the feeling that you are the obvious choice. Without saying just that, of course.

Humility and kindness are everything.

Think like this – the person interviewing you probably thinks both consciously and unconsciously about how your behavior during the conversation fits into a situation at her workplace. If and when you actually got the job.

So, if it’s a role that requires capturing an audience, stand up and draw on the whiteboard. If it is a task that requires structure and planning, ask early for an agenda and planned time. Feel free to show your best sides, but still adapt answers, questions, and behavior to what is actually requested.

The word relevance has been mentioned a few times now. And that’s the core. The master key. Without lying, really try, through questions and being prepared, to clearly bring out the strengths and qualities in you that reflect the needs of the company. Everything else is actually secondary. Apart from the fact that you would like to get a picture of you as a person. Who are you? What do you do in your free time, family situation, accommodation, favorite book and holiday plans. Even in this, you can cleverly build in relevant puzzle pieces. If you are looking for a job at ICA, it is obvious that you are very interested in food. Or logistics. Or actually worked there yourself in your youth.

Ok. Of course, you also want to get inspiration on how to handle the salary issue. A simple tip – ask them what they intend to pay for this role and task. And if you feel compelled to show your cards – present a range. And add the sentence – it all depends on the total package. Otherwise, we plan to write a new article about salary and negotiation tricks.

So, to sum up;

• Be prepared
• Ask questions
• Be yourself
• Be humble
• Be relevant
• Why you
• Own your future

Peace!