How can I feel at ease in a job interview?
What and how should you prepare?
What questions will you be asked?
How can I feel at ease at a job interview?
The job interview is important for both the company and the candidate. If you’ve been selected for an interview, it’s because your application is of interest. The company needs someone like you, and quality candidates are hard to find. That’s the reality of today’s market. The balance of power is more balanced, so go into the interview stress-free, well-prepared and professional.
When you have that in mind, and are committed and interested, you have every chance.
What’s at stake in a job interview?
Somewhere along the line, a company and a job are a good match for you. The aim of the job interview is the same for you as it is for the company: to confirm that you are the right person for the job, and to confirm that the company and the job are right for you: your career, your professional development. So it’s important to show yourself as you are, because you don’t want to be in a company where you don’t feel you belong. For 2 reasons:
- Failure is not good for your self-esteem
- If you make a mistake, you’ll need to change company to find the right company and the right job for you.
That’s why it’s essential to go into an interview with confidence, having prepared well not only to present your career path but also to ask the company about its expectations, its culture and the way it operates.
What and how should you prepare for a job interview?
Job interview: find out about the company
To prepare for your job interview, if you know which company is interested in you, you should visit their website to find out more about what they offer and their culture. This is the first step. When you visit the site, you’ll probably have questions that come to mind, so make a note of them because you can ask some of them during your interview. This will show that you have prepared for your interview, and that you are genuinely interested in this company.
Job interview: preparing your speech
When preparing your speech, the recruiter will want to identify 2 or 3 major points, depending on the post:
- Your experience, and therefore your technical and networking skills and knowledge
- Your personality, and therefore your ability to adapt to the job and the company
- Your managerial skills, if you are targeting a management position, or your potential for managerial development.
In almost all job interviews, the recruiter has a few unavoidable questions that you can prepare yourself for:
- Introduce yourself! This is a phrase that is often addressed to you. You need to know how to pitch your career path in 3 minutes, 10 minutes or 20 minutes, adjusting the level of detail to suit the job offer for which you are being interviewed.
- What are your strengths and weaknesses? The verbal formula may vary, but this is what recruiters are looking to know, over and above your professional skills. Be prepared for this. The Zoom-er personality test enables you to identify them, so you can select the qualities that are most valuable for the job you are applying for. You’ll also be able to see a few areas for improvement or areas to watch out for
What questions will you be asked at the interview?
In addition to the usual questions, you will often be asked to take personality or management tests, depending on the position you are applying for. Assess Manager offers you the opportunity to take a free test to find out the most likely questions you will be asked.
This allows you to prepare yourself and avoid any surprises. Some of the questions that emerge from the tests are probably the most difficult for you. So it’s a good idea to prepare for them as soon as you can!
To sum up: 7 keys to preparing for a job interview
- Know your target company
- Analyse the position and the qualities required (if it’s an interview with a firm, it can be quite opaque)
- Identify the questions you want to ask (relevant questions)
- Prepare the logistics (CV, notes, diary, etc.)
- Identify people in your network who may know employees of the company (via social networks, especially linkedin)
- Prepare your references: people who have worked with you at managerial level and who can testify to your professionalism.
- Prepare your speech
To go further with Assess Manager
