By Tim McMahon~ editor

Obviously you’ve done something right… you’ve attracted the attention of a company and they are interested enough to schedule an interview. Perhaps it was your resume or even better a recommendation from a friend or former coworker.  Now, the job interview is the next hurdle toward landing that new job. The purpose of the job interview from the employer’s perspective is to help them put a face with the resume, see how well your personality fits with the organization and most of all judge your qualifications in person rather than just in writing.

Since the employer was impressed with your qualifications as presented in your resume, you have made it to the interview stage, so don’t blow it now.  Make the best use of this opportunity to ace the interview and land the job.

Interviewing Techniques

Here are a few techniques to help you prepare for the interview:

Preparation is the Key to Interview Success:

If you want to perform well in the job interview, prepare well.

1) Know Thyself-

Review your resume in detail.  For each position you have had held, make notes of your achievements, the steps you took to move toward your goals and the methods you used to cross any barriers. Be sure also to write down your strengths, to fix them in your mind and also so you can review them shortly before the actual interview. Include things like verbal and writing skills, analytical abilities and management experience that have helped you in your accomplishments and that you can contribute to the job.  Recall accomplishments and also key situations in your professional life.  For instance, it could be about a tool or technique you used to complete a project or the ways you convinced a colleague or customer to adopt your way of thinking.

Everyone loves a good story, prepare several memorable stories that each illustrate your strengths and how you triumphed. Have one story illustrating your creativity, one for your problem solving skills, one for people skills, technical skills, etc. Then when you are asked about one of these areas you will have a story ready to answer it.  It is much better to illustrate with a story than to say yes I am the best whatcha-ma-jigger fixer in the world. A cool story about how you stepped in after everyone else tried to fix the whatcha-ma-jigger and failed shows not only that you are technically proficient but it also shows that you are a great communicator as well.

Imagine you are in the interview room telling your favorite stories to your best friends. Of course, the stories [Read more…] about Techniques for a Successful Interview