Interviewing: Your Attitude is Everything
The career search can be very stressful and complex and it can often bring out the "bad" in people who are normally quite nice. However, it is a good idea to remember that having a great attitude can get you a job even when you may be competing against professionals with more experience. It will therefore benefit you and improve your career if you keep this in mind. Make an extra effort to be pleasant, patient, understanding, flexible and helpful.
The simplest way to accomplish this is to help those in a position to hire you by making their job simpler and more pleasant. After all, they are not only hiring someone with technical skills, but a whole person.
Here are some practical suggestions for things you can do to show off the talented and wonderful person you are, and demonstrate to a potential employer that you are the best person for the position.
- Be confident in an understated, professional manner. Let your qualities shine through your demeanor and your answers to questions.
- Demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm. Be energetic, and never act bored or like you would rather be someplace else.
- Be prompt, follow instructions and provide requested information quickly, completely, honestly and in a pleasant manner.
- If you do not know the answer to a question, do not make one up or try to overwhelm the question with other information. Simply answer the question up to the point you know or indicate how you would approach the problem, and then state that you do not know X, Y or Z in a gracious manner.
- If an interviewer asks you to rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 in a particular area, never rate yourself a 10, you never know who might be working there and how much better than you they could be.
- Keep your answers to questions simple and concise and be aware of the time constraints of others. Be tolerant of interruptions during interviews and other delays you may experience.
- Research the company and prepare a few questions in advance. Visit their website and learn about their business so that you can ask questions that relate to the position, the department or the firm as a whole.
- Do not ask questions about benefit plans or vacation policies during the interview process.
- Limit your "casual" conversations to non-controversial topics. Do not discuss your personal problems such as a divorce or difficulties you may have with your children.
- Be appreciative and grateful to the people who are taking the time to consider you for positions.
