How to Ace an Interview

If you Keys didn’t know, your girl over here is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP). Although I’ve been in this field for a short while, I have seen some pretty bad interviews to say the least. Here are some tips to acing that interview before, during, and after it happens.

Before the Interview

1. Research the company!! This is huge because trust me the employer will most likely ask “why do you want to work for us”? How I usually go about it is by looking over the company’s mission vision, and value statement, skimming the history or "about" section on the company website, and I look for any awards or partnerships they might have with charities, non-profits, etc. Find what values the company has that you like and keep that in mind going in. This will make you come across as more authentic in the interview.

2. Cover the basic questions. Make sure you have answers to standard interview questions beforehand like “what are your weaknesses” and “tell me about yourself”. They may not ask any of these in the interview, but it’s nice to be prepared.

3. Positive self-talk. Before the interview I always tell myself to just be myself and I engage in positive self-talk. This will help if you are feeling nervous about going into that interview. Believe you are the shit and they will too!

During the Interview

1. Continue the positive self-talk. Again, this will help with the nervous feelings.

2. Find something to compliment the interviewer on. Avoid things like talking about their family photos or how attractive they might be lol. Instead, compliment their attire or bring up a big news related topic that just occurred to get the convo rolling.

3. Be aware of your body language. This is major key!! Make sure you are making good eye contact (with their eyes!!!) and make sure you are sitting up straight facing the interviewer. There’s nothing worse than a closed-in stance and frantic eyes. Act like you are interested in everything they have to say.

4. Always ask questions and elaborate. It’s good to have a couple of questions after the interview is coming to an end. I like to ask “how would you describe the workplace culture” and “are there many opportunities for advancement in this role”? In addition to this, when the interviewer asks a question, don’t give a one word response. Elaborate on your experiences and if you don’t have a situation to relate to, reply with a “I don’t personally have experience with that but I am willing to learn” or “Here’s what I would do if that situation happened to me”.

After the Interview

1. Have a mini celebration. I like to get a food/snack I really enjoy after an interview or a day of interviewing. Doing this will help you get through the interview even if it was bad because you have something to look forward to.

2. Follow-up. Don't do this the day after people! A good time to reply back would be a week after the interview if you haven't heard anything back yet. If they still don’t get back to you, a phone call another week later would suffice.

There you have it! I definitely want to do more business related articles like how to write a professional email and how to respond properly to typical interview questions. Let me know if you all are interested in me doing that!